Twilite Charters
by wittleblonde42
Summary: Tris meets Lynn and is offered a job on the SoCal, a charter fishing boat. Four is the captain of the SoCal and takes an instant liking to the new galley cook. The two become fast friends, but where will their friendship take them? *AU*
1. The SoCal

**TOBIAS**

I pull the beanie over my ears as I hop out of my truck and onto the pavement. Seagulls circle the SoCal as I stretch my arms out. The water is flat as glass in the harbor and I can see Zeke helping the daytime crew clean the boat before we go out tonight. I lock the doors of my truck before walking to the bed to grab my deck boots. A grin pulls at my lips as I pull on the snug rubber boots; they fit to my feet perfectly and bring back too many memories.

"Hey, Cappy," Uriah gives me a toothy grin. He has a cart in front of him full of supplies.

"Tori just here?" I drop my keys in my pocket and tug at the beanie again.

"Yeah, apparently the day crew killed it today. The galley was so low on supplies I couldn't even find something to eat."

"Shauna is probably a happy camper, she make good tips?"

"When doesn't Shauna make good tips?"

"And your brother questions why I hire females. He seems to forget that I've been on this boat longer than he has and I know what kind of people make money."

"You can hire as many chicks as you want. I'm not gonna complain about some eye candy," he winks at me as we head down towards the dock.

"Get to the boat, I want the galley stocked and ready before six. Gotta give Lynn a chance to get everything ready."

"Lynn is bringing her pinhead tonight, did she tell you that?" I nod and he continues, "Have you met the pinhead?"

"No, but if Lynn trains them well, I'll hire them."

"Do you think she found a dude?"

"Doubtful. But maybe it'd be good. Then you wouldn't be so distracted every time you work."

"I'm not distracted."

"That's why my boat is always a mess at the end of the night. Cause you're not distracted."

"Shut up, Four." He dramatically rolls his eyes as we walk down to the docks.

"When I was your age, I was already a deckhand. Not some little pinhead," I give him a shove.

"He's no deckhand, he's my bitch," Zeke grins from the top of the bait tank. Uriah glares at him before a loaf of bread hurls towards Zeke.

Zeke catches the bread, "I ain't no galley wench, you're supposed to give this to Lynn. Not me, dummy."

"Get my boat ready, Uriah," I cross my arms over my chest.

"Why did I ever offer to work on this boat with you two as my bosses?" he runs a hand down his face and fakes a sniffle.

"Cause you see how much money we make," Zeke smirks.

"I'm not sure it's worth the money anymore," he heads towards the bow of the boat to grab a brush.

"You're saying that now, but when Four makes you a deckhand on the day crew you'll be singing a different tune."

"Make me a deckhand, Four."

"I'll make you a deckhand when you learn to scrub my boat," I walk into the galley and am greeted by Shauna's bright smile.

"Make me a captain!" Zeke yells from outside and I shake my head no, "Why not!?"

"I just made you a deckhand!"

"Who died and made you captain!?"

"Harrison made me captain, cause I have seniority over you and I've earned my keep!"

"You know, I don't know why on earth Lynn has decided that moving away for college will be more fun than working with you dummies every night," Shauna leans on the counter.

"Apparently going to school and getting an education is more important," I roll my eyes in mock disgust.

"Ugh, I know. Who needs school when you can be a boat wench all your life?"

"Or a captain," I wink.

"Yeah, yeah, big shot. All proud of yourself for making it as a captain. I think it's unfair, Harrison always treated you special. You have been his favorite since day one."

"Don't be jealous," I smirk, "Where's Lynn?"

"Picking up your newest addition and then she'll be right over."

"Have you met the newest addition to my crew?"

"I actually haven't. Lynn just recently met her at some party or something. I guess she had mentioned that she needed a job and Lynn offered to train her."

"Did Lynn tell her what the job is?"

"I'm sure she sugar coated it. I mean no girl wants to willingly work with all you salty men."

"But for some reason you do."

"What can I say, you've got a cute deckhand," she looks outside towards Zeke.

"You two kiss yet?"

"Four, shut up!" she smacks my arm.

"I didn't even say it that loud," I chuckle.

"He could've heard you!"

"But he didn't."

"What if he did?" Her cheeks go a bit rosy at the thought and I shake my head at her. Shauna has been pining over my best friend since she started working on the boat when she was eighteen.

"Just make a move."

"You are so oblivious to how relationships work."

"How?"

"Whens the last time you had a relationship?"

"I've been in a relationship for four years now with the SoCal."

"Married to the job."

"My hours are too much for a normal chick to handle, you know how it is."

"One day you're gonna find some girl that loves the smell of salt water and can't get enough of fishing."

"When you find one, send her my way," I smile before leaving the galley and going back on the deck. Uriah is still scrubbing the boat and Zeke is sitting on the railing barking orders like every good deckhand does to their pinhead. I look up to the parking lot and see people lined up at the railing, waiting to be let on the boat for a night of fishing. Some have their own poles and gear, others stand with nothing, most likely renting one of the poles we keep below the deck. Most of the people waiting are men, but there are always a few girls that come out. I grab the ladder and head towards the upper deck and the wheelhouse. Harrison is sitting on the covered life raft with a cigarette in his hand, smoke around his head.

"You ready for tonight?" he greets me.

"I don't think I've been this excited since you told me you we're gonna help me get my captains license," I smile.

"You'll do good, kid."

"You think so?"

"I taught you, I know so. When you captained a few trips last year I knew you would make it. You are officially a twilight captain. This year, this night crew is yours. Be good to them and they'll be good to you."

**TRIS**

I follow behind Lynn as we head towards the large boat tied to the dock. My stomach feels a bit queasy when I think of being in the middle of the ocean with a bunch of people I don't know. I take in a deep breath and count to five. For five seconds I can be nervous about working on the ocean, about being around a bunch of strangers. I left Chicago so I could be free, what's more freeing than floating around in an ocean. Lynn has a baseball cap covering her pixie cut hair. The jeans she sports are holey and the dye is worn in places, her sweatshirt is oversized and on her feet are a pair of brown rubber boots that sport the logo Xtra tuf. She had called the boots deck boots; apparently they are the best things to wear on a boat. They're supposed to keep you from slipping on the wet deck. I make sure to make a mental note, if I get hired on the boat I want to have the necessary uniform. Lynn assured me that the job is enjoyable; I just have to learn to play with the boys.

I wasn't sure what she meant when she said that but after hearing her talk about the men she works with I got the sense that they're more of the rough types. I'm assuming they're nothing like my older brother Caleb, who is the kind of person that wants to be an engineer and reads for fun. He wanted to stay at home and go to college, my parents were happy with his decision. However they weren't very fond of my plans to leave Chicago, I had to get away from the city I grew up in. I craved freedom and being able to discover myself. When Eric had told me he was moving to California I couldn't help but jump at the opportunity to go with him. I think that's what upset my parents the most, the fact that I left them to move miles away with a boy.

Eric had said he'd take care of me; I could go to school in the fall. Start college and maybe figure out what I want to major in, but since it's summer I need to do something. He works five days a week, which leaves me at home and lonely. I need to start pulling my weight a bit, make some money to help with rent and groceries. Relying on my boyfriend isn't exactly the definition of freeing.

I step onto the large white boat after Lynn; it sways a bit with the current, even though it's tied down. My eyes drink in the site of the vessel I'm on. There is a railing around the whole boat that comes up to my mid torso. The deck is huge; there are two steps that lead to another deck in the middle. It's got a short railing around it as well. On raised part of the deck is a little room. Inside the room are two long tables with benches; at the end of the room is a small kitchen that is separated by a counter. Behind the counter is a grill and microwave, as well as shelves with chips and cup of noodle soups. There is a ladder on the outside of the room that leads up to the second deck, the second deck has a metal railing around it, excluding the area that the ladder leads up to. There is another room on the second deck. I hear laughter from the room upstairs and look around the boat once more.

Lynn drags me inside of the room and I see that there are numerous windows on both side. Out of the windows I can see the harbor on my left and the dock on my right. Inside is an older girl that looks like Lynn as well as two similar looking boys. "Everyone, this is Beatrice. This is my sister, Shauna," Lynn gestures towards the girl who shares her features. Shauna seems a bit more clean cut compared to Lynn, who has her eyebrow pierced and her pixie cut.

"Nice to meet you," I murmur.

"This is Zeke," she points to the taller of the boys. He gives me a small smirk and sticks out a tattooed arm to shake my hand. I grab his hand timidly and shake back.

"Oh, sweetheart, you're not gonna get far on this boat with a handshake like that. Let's try again. Stick your hand out like you mean it, grab mine so that we are completely grasping each other's hand. Then you're going to squeeze my hand firmly and shake it, ya got it?" I nod and shake his hand again, "There you go, sweetheart. Not so bad huh?"

"I've never really shook anyone's hand before," I feel my cheeks warm a bit.

"Aw, she's so cute, Lynn where did you find her?" the other boy asks with a toothy, white smile. He has a snake tattoo behind his ear and dark brown eyes.

"She's so innocent, it's adorable, huh?" Lynn's full lips smirk.

"I'm Uriah," he sticks his hand out to me and I shake his hand like Zeke told me to.

"Look at that, she catches on quick," Zeke smiles.

"I'm gonna head out," Shauna pats Lynn on the back, "Nice meeting you, Tris."

"Uh, you too," I sputter at the thought of a nickname.

"You don't mind if I call you Tris, right?"

"Oh, it's fine," I give her a small smile.

"Alright, well you ladies have fun. I stocked up for the night, text Tori if you run out of anything so she can get it for the morning trip. You teach her good, Lynn. Or I may have to take her from you and teach her myself."

"Yeah, yeah. Don't worry about it. I know how to teach someone."

"Bye guys," Shauna waves as she walks out and off of the boat.

"You know Lynn, I think I'm gonna like having you not working with us anymore," Uriah gives her a shit-eating-grin. "Tris here is much more fun to look at." My cheeks blush and I look towards the ground, not accustomed to being openly flirted with.

"Leave her alone, Mackerel, we've gotta let people on. I'll take their tickets and you try to sell some sacks, make yourself useful." Zeke leaves with Uriah on his tail and I'm left in the room with Lynn.

"Mackerel?" I look towards Lynn.

"It's a nickname, boats are fond of nicknames I've discovered. No one really goes by their first names here. Mackerels are used as bait, so Uriah being called mackerel is basically like saying he's on the bottom of the food chain here. If you last, you'll earn a nickname."

"So having a nickname is a good thing?"

"Yes, even if the nickname is kinda mean. It means that you've been accepted into the family."

"Oh, alright," I look around a bit more and watch as people start to get on the boat.

"Have you ever been on a boat?"

"Not really," I sheepishly say.

"Well let's hope you don't get seasick, but if you get a little woozy just take a step outside. The fresh air will help. Working at night means you are working the twilight shift. So this room that we're in is the galley. I'm a galley cook and hopefully you will be one too. The bathrooms are known as the heads on a boat. The front of the boat is the bow and the back is the stern. There is the deck and the second story is the upper deck. On the upper deck is the wheelhouse, that's where the captain stays for the most part. From up there he can do pretty much anything he needs. He's got windows and there is a sound system on the boat, so if you hear a random voice coming from no where, it's either him sticking his head out of a window and yelling or giving everyone a rundown of something with the microphone. It may seem like a lot to take in, but believe me you'll want to know some boat terms before you meet the captain. If you don't he will look at you like you're an idiot. Zeke is a deckhand, he helps people with fishing and stuff, Uriah is his pinhead, which basically means he's in training. Once he has proved himself, he can become a deckhand. The deckhands never eat dinner before we leave so we will most likely have to make them dinner, I never know about Four though."

"Four?"

"The captain. We call him Four. He sometimes just takes care of himself when it comes to food and other times I swear he will eat everything in the galley."

"Why do they call him Four?"

"Can't say, but I actually don't even know his real name."

"What am I?"

"Technically you are a pinhead, but it's easier to be a galley cook than a deckhand. But don't be afraid to learn a bit about what the deckhands do, we all help each other out here. The boat leaves at 6:30 every night and we need to get here by 5:30. We usually dock again at midnight. Once we're docked we clean up and head home. We work Tuesday night through Sunday night, you got everything Tris?"

"I, uh, I think so."

"Don't worry, you'll catch on," she reassures me.


	2. Night One

**TRIS**

I can see Zeke untie the boat from the windows in the galley. He undoes the rope, tosses it to Uriah and pushes the boat off from the dock, then runs to the back of the boat and unties the other rope. After tossing the second rope to Uriah, he leaps off of the dock back onto the boat and slowly we leave the harbor. My legs feel like jello as the boat slightly sways with the water. Lynn motions for me to come behind the counter with her and she explains how she keeps tabs on everyone that orders anything from us. She handwrites everything and there is a drawer for money. I take a look around the small cooking area. There is a small gate at the right side of the counter so we can get in and out, on my right sits all of the dry supplies, like bread and onions. In front of me are chips and soups as well as a menu. A grill is up against the wall and directly across from it is the counter. The counter is also the cooler for drinks and there is a side for refrigerated supplies. Lynn stands in front of the grill and turns it on.

"When it's rough waters, you've got to make sure to watch out for the grill. I promise you'll end up burning yourself at least once, but we will try to avoid you hurting yourself as much as possible. I'm going to start the night with making everything and you're just gonna watch at first. You can take a seat on the cooler and lean on the counter, that's usually where I am when I'm not busy."

"Do you want me to keep tabs of people while you cook?" I ask as I hop up onto the cooler, the notepad sits on the counter in front of me.

"You think you got it?"

"I think so, you can double check everything I do though, just to make sure."

"Alright."

There is a scratchy noise over the speakers and then I hear a deep voice, "Hello everyone and welcome aboard the SoCal. Nice to see some familiar faces out here tonight and some new ones. Your deckhand tonight is Zeke and his helper for the night is Mackerel, if you need help tying up your rods or anything else, they're your guys. Don't be afraid to ask them for help, that's what I pay them for. If you're feeling hungry or you need a beer I've got the lovely Dobbie in the galley tonight and she makes a mean burger. We're gonna be fishing for sand bass tonight, don't cast any lines until we are anchored to the spot. I'll let you guys know when you're good to go. It'll be about twenty minutes before we get to the first spot. I'll be you captain tonight and my name is Four, if they fish are biting, if they're not biting call me Bud." The speaker clicks off and I look back over to Lynn who is checking the heat of the grill by placing a hand above it.

"Dobbie?" I raise an eyebrow.

"Short for Doberman. The first day I trained with my sister, there was this drunk guy hitting on her in the galley. Four was sitting in the galley with us and he told the guy to knock it off and the guy persisted so I got pissed off. Shauna usually brushes things off but he was being so rude I couldn't stand it. Four told me when I'm mad I'm like a Doberman and he's pretty sure my bite is worse than my bark. Somehow it just stuck and then it got shortened to Dobbie."

"It's kinda cute."

"Adorable," she smirks.

"So who gives the nicknames, just Four?"

"No, it's more of whatever sticks. Zeke started calling Uriah Mackerel and Four thought it was so funny it just stuck." A couple of men walk into the galley and Lynn gives them a smile and nods towards me.

"Hi guys, what can I get you tonight?"

"Dobbie, I didn't realize that we get to have two pretty ladies in the galley tonight."

"She is my pinhead," she smiles, "This is Steve and Steve. They're my regulars."

"Been coming on this boat since the skipper was just a pinhead himself."

"Skipper?" I question.

"She's new to all of the boat lingo. She's never even been on the water before!"

"You'll catch on quick, darling," the one Steve with a goatee says, "Skipper just means captain."

"Oh, so you guys have been coming for a while, I take it?"

"That we have."

"The usual?" Lynn questions from behind me.

"As always Dobbie," the other Steve smiles at her.

"You two sharing a tab tonight?" They nod at her, "Okay, who's number is this tab going under?"

"Mine tonight, I lost a bet," goatee Steve glares at the other Steve, "I'm number ten tonight."

"Perfect, I'll have Tris run your burgers out when they're finished."

"We don't even have to come back to pick our food up?"

"Not tonight."

The two men leave and I write on the paper of tabs, under the number column I write a ten and the name Steve next to it. "What is their usual order?"

"Two doubles and two Budlights. So just make two tally marks under the double column and two under the beer column."

"Okay, so I just do tallies for everything?"

"Yup. Pretty simple, right?"

"Seems like it."

"At the end of the night we do all of the math and make sure everyone pays up. We'll figure out how much money we made once we're done cleaning."

"Sounds like a plan," I smile. This is going to be easier than I thought, and I'm not getting seasick. I just have to make sure the boys think I'm valuable to them. I need to learn how to help on the deck. A few minutes later Lynn put two burgers that are wrapped up in a yellow paper in front of my face as well as two beers. I get off of the cooler and grab all of the food.

"Just find the Steves and hand them their food."

"Will do," I say stepping out of the galley and onto the deck. Cool sea air hits me and I take a deep breath in. I see the Steves on the stern of the boat and head towards them. They thank me as they take their food and I head back into the galley. Lynn is taking more orders and has numerous burgers on the grill. We get through the dinner rush without a hitch and after watching her I feel confident enough to do the job once she leaves for school. I hear the captain's deep voice over the speaker again, "Zeke, anchor time, get up to the bow. Alright everyone give us a few minutes to swing over the spot and you'll be able to start fishing. There are quite a few fish on the radar, so we should be able fill some sacks. Remember to change your bait often and play with your line, if you're bait is dead and you don't move your pole you're not gonna catch anything."

Zeke anchors the boat and within minutes we're staying in one spot. The boat rolls with the small waves. Lynn takes her spot on the cooler and pulls out a magazine, she tells me I can sit in the galley with her or explore the boat. I decide to choose the second option. I sit on the raised part of the first deck with my feet pressed against the railing. There are seagulls circling the boat and everyone seems to have a line in the water. Uriah and Zeke slowly circle around the boat and helping different people change their bait. I breath in the salt air as the light breeze blows my hair into my face. The horizon shows nothing but open ocean and I can't help but smile. I'm in the middle of an ocean and there is no one else but the people on this boat. I lay on my back and close my eyes for a second, relishing in the feeling of open water surrounding me. Slowly I sit back up and watch as the sky changes colors before my eyes. The clouds become a pink color while the rest of the sky is a deep orange, my body warms at the site. Some how I've missed out on sunsets the last nineteen years of my life. Chicago sky never left me in this much awe before.

I hear someone shout for a gaph and Uriah comes running with a wood pole. On the edge of the pole is a large hook and I stand up in curiosity. Uriah leans over the edge of the boat and thrusts the pole into the water. His muscles tense as he starts to raise the pole from the water. "Back up guys," Zeke says to the people around him. People back up a bit and Uriah pulls a shark onto the boat. My breath catches in my throat and my eyes widen in terror as the fish thrashes on the deck. I take a step back and bump into someone standing behind me.

"Afraid of a little pup?" the deep voice that I've heard over the speaker asks. I spin on my heels and look up to a man who looks a bit older than me. He looks down at me with a slight smirk.

"That's a shark," I swallow hard.

"Just a baby one," he grins, "And it can't get you from over there, there are steps and about six feet separating you from that fish." I take a few steps forward and look down at the blue colored shark, it's not as big as I initially thought, and it's teeth protrude from its mouth at different angles. Its black eyes reflect the people around it and Zeke pulls out a large thin knife. Uriah lifts the gaph up, raising the shark off of the ground a few inches, Zeke takes the knife to the shark's head and makes one clean cut. Dark blood oozes from the creature and it's thrashing comes to a stop. Uriah pulls the gaph out of it and flips it on its side, Zeke takes the knife and makes a cut down the middle of the shark's belly. He removes something from the shark and throws it over the railing of the boat.

"Why did they do that?" I whisper to myself.

"I'm assuming whoever caught that shark is going to eat it. If you catch a shark you want to remove it's guts right away, otherwise it can still secrete waste and it actually ruins the meat," the voice behind me answers.

"Oh," I stay focused on the dead shark in front of me. Its blood covers a spot on the deck as well as Uriah's deck boots.

"Well look who decided to show up for work," the man behind crosses his arms over his chest as he looks at Lynn.

"I was picking up Tris," she motions to me.

"So you're the reason my galley cook was late to work," he sighs as he stares at me. I can't tell if he's legitimately upset that Lynn was late or not.

"Stop being so mean," Lynn shoves him, "She isn't gonna want my job if the captain is a jerk. He's not really a jerk, he just likes pretending he's one."

"I'm still mad at you for bailing on me my first summer," he glares at Lynn.

"I've been with you for the last two summers, it's not my problem that you decide to be the captain when I decide to leave for school."

"You better be training her good," he nods towards me.

"She is," I spit out. He nods before turning away from us and heading back upstairs.

"He's really not that bad. It's just that a lot of people don't end up making it out here. So there isn't any point in making friends unless you know they're gonna be here for a while."

* * *

_You guys are awesome :)  
I wasn't sure how people would respond to this story, but I'm definitely going to continue with it._

_Thanks for the reviews lovies_


	3. End of the Night

**TOBIAS**

I lay down on the bed up in the wheelhouse as I wait for everyone to finish cleaning up the boat. Zeke comes in and gives me a cut of the money for filleting fish and not more than five minutes after Lynn comes up with an envelope of money. She writes the date on the envelope as well as Tori's name before handing it to me.

"You do good tonight?"

"Yeah, the Steve's were on tonight so I got some fat tips," she gives me a devilish grin.

"How'd your friend do?"

"She actually picked up on everything pretty quickly, only thing is you scared her," she frowns.

"I scared her?"

"Yes, you put on your captain face. You know the one where you are being boss man and you get your scary teacher voice. I swear the future pinheads are going to be terrified about pissing you off."

"That's what I like to here," I smirk.

"Oh shut up."

"Did you text Tori so she can get any supplies Shauna is gonna need in the morning?"

"Yes sir."

"I like that, you should always call me sir."

"You're so annoying Four. I'll be here tomorrow night, but I may be running a little late again."

"Again?"

"Tris doesn't have a car, her boyfriend is her only source of transportation at the moment."

"What is she gonna do after you leave her?"

"Get her boyfriend to take her to work and pick her up."

"Let's hope he doesn't mind picking up his girl at one in the morning."

"He's gonna have to get used to it."

Uriah finishes scrubbing the boat as Zeke puts the tops over the bait tanks. Lynn and Tris stand in front of closed galley doors. Tris seems in awe as she stares into the dark harbor, moonlight sparkling off of the ocean. She closes her eyes for a second and takes a deep breath in, a smile plays at her lips and for a moment I feel like I understand what she's feeling. Like you're clean and hopeful. I find myself looking at her for a little longer than I should and shake my head as I turn my attention towards Zeke who now has a line in the water.

"What are you doing, ya dummy?"

"Fishing, what's it look like sweetie," he responds to me without looking over at me.

"All you're gonna catch is a bat."

"So? They put up a good fight."

I hear Lynn murmur, "He means a stingray," to Tris. It's endearing that she knows absolutely nothing about being on the ocean.

"I'm going to bed, get some shut eye tonight." I find myself yawning as I start heading off of the boat.

"Goodnight," Tris looks at me, I nod at her as I hop onto the dock. I walk up to my truck and look back down at the boat. The SoCal is tied down and its lights are on as always. I hear Zeke yell and watch as he fights a stingray. Uriah stands next to him waiting to catch a glimpse of the bottom feeder. The girls go towards the railing as well and for a minute I feel myself become a little prideful. On that boat stands people that respect me as a boss but view me as their friend, some how they are able to differentiate the two. My best friend lets out a booming laugh as he pulls the ray onto the boat. Uriah unhooks the creature and grabs it by its gills; he jumps towards Lynn who looks him up and down with her hands on her hips. Meanwhile, Tris lets out a small squeal then laughs as she looks closely at the bottom of it.

"Go to bed!" Zeke yells to me as he sees me standing in the parking lot. I flip him off and open the door of my truck.

The house is warm and smells of lavender as always. There is a movie title screen on the TV and the same song continues to quietly play. My mom is curled up on the couch with a blanket at her feet. Her dark curls messily cover the armrest and her eyelashes brush against her cheek as she sleeps. I pull the blanket over her and kiss her on the cheek. Her eyes slowly open and she gives me a small smile as she places her hand on my cheek.

"Hi, baby," she whispers.

"Hi," I grin.

"How was work?" She sits up and pats the place next to her. I sit next to her and she curls in towards me. At some point in my teens I out grew her, but she seems bigger than life to me.

"It was good, we almost hit limits."

"That's great. How's Zeke?"

"Good. I think Uriah is finally starting to learn some things from him."

"Took him long enough," she smirks, "Did Lynn find a replacement?"

"She found someone to train. Lynn told me tonight that Tris did well tonight. So I may have a new cook before she leaves."

"Tris? That's a unique name."

"I think it's short for something, but I didn't really talk to her."

"Of course you didn't, Tobias. It'd be too unlike you to make friends with someone right away."

"Ha-ha, you're hilarious mother."

"You know what I mean."

"I have friends."

"I never said you didn't. I'm just saying letting new people into your life isn't a bad thing."

"I know."

"I love you," her dark eyes look me over and she runs a hand through my hair. She pauses for a moment and her eyes stay focused on me. I cock my head a little in confusion and furrow my brow. "He doesn't even understand that he lost."

"He won," I look down.

"No he didn't, Tobias. I did. I'm the one who got you and that means I won. Marcus got everything that didn't matter."

"You sure about that?"

"More than anything. You are worth more than anything and one day he is gonna realize that."

"I don't think he's ever going to believe that."

"There will be a day when it hits him that he doesn't have his only child in his life. And when that day comes he's going to realize that he didn't deserve you to begin with. Just like I don't deserve you," she kisses me on the cheek.

**TRIS**

I thank Lynn for driving me home after work and head inside the apartment complex. I put my key in the lock quietly, hoping not to wake Eric considering he has work early in the morning. Tiptoeing through our home I slip on a pair of pajamas and toss my sweatshirt on the floor. Eric is laying on his stomach and I can see his piercings through the moonlight. His short hair is messy against the pillow and I smile as I crawl into the bed next to him.

"Beatrice," he whispers.

"I'm home," I kiss his shoulder.

"How was work?"

"It was actually really good," I grin.

"That's good, I'm glad you enjoyed it," he mumbles.

I snuggle into his side and sigh in content. Eric is in a good mood tonight and it's in these moments that I remember what attracted me to him in the first place. He lazily places an arm over my back and pulls me more into him. I place a kiss on his cheek and close my eyes. This is the first time that I feel like I was right to leave Chicago with Eric. There are no conflicting feelings in this moment. I am in a different state in a different home with someone I care about and I know he cares about me too.

* * *

**You guys seriously are awesome. I'm honestly surprised by how many positive comments I've gotten. I hope I am explaining things well enough about the private fishing industry so that you guys know what's going on. **

**This is going to be Fourtris, I just don't want to jump into it. I hate when things move too quickly.**

**Thanks for all the reviews, follows and favorites :)**


	4. Bruiser

**TOBIAS**

I sit next to Harrison on the life raft on the upper deck. He is smoking his signature after trip cigarette as we watch Zeke, Uriah and Will get the boat ready. Clouds dot the blue sky and I can tell the water is going to be a little rougher tonight.

"You gonna try for bass tonight?" Harrison blows out a mouthful of smoke.

"I was thinking about it, but after reading the fishing reports I think it might be better to just go get some sculpin. I rather have people catching fish instead of giving me shit cause they aren't catching crap."

"I hear ya, buddy. Here comes your cooks. The new one doing well?" he motions towards Lynn and Tris who are walking our way. The two seem to be in light-hearted conversation as they head towards the boat. Tris is still sporting her high top converse even though she's been on the boat for a week now. She takes a step onto a wet part of the dock and instantly falls onto her butt while making a small shriek. Lynn turns and grabs her stomach as laughter fills the air. Harrison lets out a deep laugh instantly and I can't help but laugh myself.

"Miss your footing there, Bruiser?" I yell down towards her.

"Something like that," she yells back with bright eyes and flushed cheeks.

"If I was twenty years younger I wouldn't be able to keep myself off of her," Harrison whispers to me and I let out a chuckle.

"So if you were my age?"

"Exactly," he winks at me.

"She's got a boyfriend."

"So, I didn't say I was gonna date her."

"You're dirty."

"Sailor," he smirks and points to himself. "Also a sailor," he points to me.

"Dirty old man," I point to him. "Young respectable kid," I point to myself and he chuckles again. The girls step on the boat and I notice that Tris is carrying a bag in her right hand.

"Do I have to feed you tonight?" Lynn looks up at me from the deck.

"Yes, but what is in Tris' bag?"

"Nosy much?"

"So?"

"I made cupcakes today," Tris answers.

"It's not my birthday yet, Tris. That's not for a few more months, but I'll take them anyway."

"You shouldn't have told him that you have cake. Now he's never going to leave you alone," Lynn pouts.

"This kid has the biggest sweet tooth of anyone I know, but you'd never know he eats so much crap by looking at him. I mean he obviously likes to lift things for fun, huh buddy?" Harrison elbows me in the side.

"Are you calling me a meathead?"

"No I'm saying you like to eat junk, but you also like to work out," he grins. The girls head into the galley and I narrow my eyes at Harrison.

"Are you trying to be my wingman?"

"Come on kid, of course I am. You're like the son I never had, I gotta help you get girls."

"She has a boyfriend," I chuckle.

"Yeah, but relationships end, people break up."

**TRIS**

I finish up the remaining burgers on the grill by the time we're anchored. Lynn takes her usual spot on the cooler and opens up a book.

"Will you bring chubby upstairs some dinner?" she asks not looking up from her book.

"Yeah, what do I make him?"

"Not a burger."

"Why not?"

"He usually refuses to eat them on the boat because he's eaten them so much. Just make him two grilled cheeses and grab him a bag of blue doritos."

"He really does eat crap, huh?"

"When he eats the food we have here yeah, I think that's why he usually ends up eating before he gets to work."

I butter four slices of bread and toss them on the grill, the familiar sound of sizzling fills the small galley. I place a piece of cheese on each slice of bread and wait for it to melt. Once they're finished I wrap them in yellow paper and grab a bag of doritos. Before I walk out of the galley Lynn hands me a bottle of water. I put the water in my sweatshirt pocket and hold the two grilled cheeses with one hand so I can climb the ladder upstairs. I pause once I'm standing on the upper deck, I haven't stepped foot on the top deck yet and the view from here is so much sweeter than the one from the first deck. There is noise coming from the wheel house and I slowly make my way towards it. I knock on the door even though it's open, not wanting to sneak up on Four.

"Lynn said to make you some dinner," I say handing him the sandwiches and pulling the water out of my pocket.

"Where's the cake?"

"Huh?"

"You're the worst pinhead ever, you make cupcakes and bring them on the boat and don't give me one."

"I forgot," my cheeks warm up a bit and look down at my feet for a second.

"Lynn wants me to hire someone who doesn't even give me junk food, she must be delirious." I look around the wheel house from outside the door, a large steering wheel sits in front of Four and monitors cover the area around it. "Have you ever been in here?" his voice makes me jump from my thoughts.

"Um, no actually."

"Well I don't bite, you can come in. If the doors open come in and if it's closed just knock and I'll let you in. The only times it's shut is when there are people on the boat that I don't want to talk to." I step inside the room and notice the large bed behind the chair that sits in front of the wheel.

"How on earth do you steer this thing?"

"It's a lot simpler than it looks."

"If you say so. I never knew there was a bed in here."

"Every now and then we end up pulling doubles and when you do there really isn't any point in going home to sleep when you just have to be back on the boat in five hours."

"That makes sense."

"How're you liking working on the boat?" He opens one of the grilled cheeses and takes a bite.

"I actually am surprised by how much I enjoy it. I thought I'd be more uncomfortable being on a boat surrounded by something that could easily drown me, but it's the most exhilarating feeling I've ever had. I feel so small, but at the same time so alive."

"I can honestly say I know what you mean. There is just something calming about being on the ocean."

"There really is."

"Nice," Four looks at one of the screens and grins. He sticks his head out of the window and yells down to someone, "Wide open!"

"Wide open?"

"Come here," I go stand next to him as he looks at certain screen. "This is a fish finder, see all the little red dots on the screen?"

"Yeah."

"They're all fish."

My eyes widen, "Those are all fish?"

"Yes," he smiles, "Which means if I got a party of people down there that know how to fish we will probably hit limits tonight and be able to go home early."

"Hit limits?"

"Each person is only allowed to catch so many of one kind of fish and take it home. We're fishing for sculpin tonight, it's a rock fish and each person is allowed to take five fish home. So if we catch enough that everyone who wants to take fish home has five we head back in towards the dock early."

"Biters!" Zeke's voice yells from the lower deck.

"Have you had a chance to fish yet?" I shake my head no, "Oh, Bruiser, then this is the perfect time to do it."

"Bruiser?"

"Yeah Bruiser, you're klutzy, Bruiser is completely appropriate."

"I guess," I laugh.

"Have you ever fished in your life?"

"No," I sheepishly respond.

"Well then it looks like I'm gonna have to teach you. Come on."


	5. First Catch

**TRIS**

Four heads into the galley and makes an immediate left to the doors the lead down below. He pulls open a door and tells me to keep it ajar for him so there is some light, I do and he descends the stairs. A pole comes out of the opening and I automatically grab it with my free hand. He comes back out and we shut the door, after inspecting the line he sees that there isn't a hook on it.

"Hold the pole for me while I tie a hook and weight on it," I nod and do as he asks. He takes a hook and a weight from a drawer on the counter and puts the line through them. Within seconds the hook and weight are tied on and he puts his hand on my shoulder to lead me outside. We go to the bow of the boat, where fewer people are fishing and he leaves me alone for a minute. When he returns there is a small anchovy squirming in his hand. He takes the hook and puts it through the anchovy's nose. The small fish moves around on the hook and I frown a bit.

"Doesn't that hurt it?"

"If I put a hook in your face do you think it'd hurt?"

"Well, yeah."

"So yeah it does, but in a few minutes he's going to be food."

"I didn't think of that."

"When I was little I loved coming out and being on the boat but I refused to fish cause I didn't want to hurt any of them. Then I started working on the boat and realized that fish are money."

"How little were you when you first came out here?"

"That's a story for another time, Bruiser. Right now I'm trying to teach you to fish," he wipes scales from his hand onto his jeans.

"So what is the first step?"

"You need to get your line in the water. See this switch on the reel? Flip it and the and line is going to unwind." He leans the pole over the water and drops it into the water, "Let it drop until it hits the bottom, once it does you can reel it in a bit. You don't want the weight laying on the ground," He reels the line in and hands the pole to me.

"What am I supposed to do?"

"Play with it."

"Which means?"

"You wanna move the pole up and down. Not too much just enough to keep the bait looking appetizing for the fish. Now place your finger of your left hand under the line, lightly," I do it and look at him, waiting. "You can feel when you get a bite when your finger is on the line like that. You'll feel a tug and when you do pull the pole up quickly so you hook the fish. It'll be something like this," he tugs on my line and I feel it tighten up on my finger. I don't have to wait long before I feel the line tug and pull the pole up quickly, but when I slowly put it back down the line isn't as taut anymore.

"Do I reel it in?"

"Let me see," he takes the pole from me and pulls it up slightly, "I think you lost the fish." He reels in my line and at the end of my hook is nothing.

"What happened?"

"A fish ate your bait but was too smart to get caught. I'll go get you some more bait. You'll be able to catch one. It's wide open which means they're pretty much bite anything."

We do this for about a half an hour, everyone around me seems to be catching fish but me. I continue to loose my bait and Four grabs me new bait after I reel in my empty line. I begin to get frustrated as he hooks another anchovy onto my hook; I drop the line into the water and do everything that he has told me. He stands next to me, leaning on the railing and looking out onto the water. The sun has just set, but the sky is still illuminated. It's twilight. Something tugs at my line and I pull up quickly, as I lower the pole I feel something fight against me.

"I got something!" I jump up.

"Reel it in," Four laughs. I begin to reel in the fish and he watches the water, waiting to catch a glimpse of my catch. Zeke walks over to us and stands on the other side of me.

"Biter!" he yells, "Get it, Bruiser!"

"I see it," I smile as I continue to fight the fish on the end of my line. The red fish comes closer to the surface of the water.

"Reel it in till it's about two feet out of the water, then carefully raise the pole and swing the fish onto the deck. You've got a sculpin and they have poisonous spines, so be careful, but it's small enough to bounce. Which means you can get it on the boat without help from a gaph," Four patiently waits for me to put the fish onto the deck. I raise the fish out of the water and suddenly become uncomfortable with the thought of swinging something poisonous near my boss.

"Come on, bounce the fish, don't be scared," Zeke grins. I get the fish onto the deck and Zeke grabs it by its mouth. He pulls a pair of pliers from his pocket and gets the hook out of its mouth. "You've gotta take a picture with it now, it's your first catch," he holds the fish closer to me.

"It's poisonous though."

"If you grab it by its mouth like Zeke is doing you'll be fine. Only the spines are poisonous," Four says. Zeke carefully gives me the fish and I grin as I take a closer look at it.

"Now when I take the picture you've gotta hold the fish out, so it's closer to the camera and it looks bigger." Zeke pulls his phone out of his pocket and backs up a bit, "Get in the picture Four. You taught her how to do it." Four takes a step closer to me and pushes my elbow a little more forward.

"People who fish lie. When you show someone a picture of your catch it's always got to look bigger than it actually was," he smirks.

"Okay on three. One, three," Zeke grins as the phone flashes.

"Where was two?" Four frowns.

"I guess I forgot about two," Zeke smiles, "I'll send the picture to your phone, Tris."

"Okay," I smile.

"Now toss that fish back," Four motions to the water.

"Why?"

"Cause it's a baby fish, they have to be a certain size in order for you to keep them and that one is about an inch too small."

"How do you know just by looking at it?"

"If any fish is questionable, you toss it. You don't want to have to deal with fish and game."

"Oh, okay," I toss the fish over the railing and it swims back down into the black water.

"It's fun, huh?"

"It is, I don't think you're going to be able to get rid of me," I look out onto the dark water as moon reflects off of it.

"Well I do need a fulltime galley cook coming up in a week, so it works out. You'll do well out here, Tris. You seem to fit in with everyone," he gives me a small smile before heading back towards the stern of the boat.

* * *

_Oh my, you all leave the sweetest reviews. Seriously it makes me want to write all day long, who needs finals anyways? Since all of you lovies have decided to review/favorite/follow this story I thought I'd give you one more chapter before the night is over. _

_If any of you had been wondering if I look up all of the information about fishing for this story, I actually don't. I worked on a charter fishing boat in my teens as a deckhand pinhead/galley cook. I don't think I could find all of the slang fisherman use online even if I tried, so thank goodness I know it all!_

_Hope you guys liked this little chapter._


	6. Initiation

**TOBIAS**

Zeke ties the boat down and I watch passengers leave with bags full of filleted fish and smiles on their faces. Uriah has already finished scrubbing the boat and stands next to his brother as they say good night to everyone. I can hear faint music coming from the galley, which means the girls are cleaning. I yawn and fall onto the worn out bed. My eyes close for a moment and I'm shaken awake by Zeke.

"Want money?"

"I always want your money," I smirk.

"Well here it is then," he hands me some folded up bills.

"Thanks, doll."

"You're welcome, sweetie. I think we're gonna play some poker tonight. You down?"

"I'll play a hand or two with you guys," I sit up and follow him to the galley. Lynn is sitting next to Uriah and Tris is across from them. Zeke takes a seat on the other side of Lynn and winks at me as I sit next to Tris. I shake my head at him and bite back a grin. Apparently my attraction to the young girl is obvious to everyone but her and Lynn.

"Aw, you're gonna play with us Cappy?" Lynn shuffles the deck of cards in her hands.

"I'm just here to take all of your money," I take a look at the table and notice everyone has a beer in front of them. "Since when are minors allowed to drink my beer?"

"Since they share with you," Uriah hands me a can.

"That's why I keep you around," I grab the beer from him, "Lynn you only get one tonight. You're driving and I'm not about to take a lashing from Shauna."

"Yes dad," she huffs and rolls her eyes.

"You're my practice child," I grin.

"Oh goodie, I'm a guinea pig."

"Shush and deal, I've got a bed at home calling my name."

"Yeah, Lynn, deal already. I got to take all of Four's money," Zeke gives me a devilish smile.

Lynn gives everyone a hand and we start playing Texas hold 'em. I keep my eye on Lynn to make sure she doesn't sneak another beer while I pay attention to the game. Tris stays quiet as we play, focusing on her hand and trying to figure out who's bluffing. I win a few hands and start to stand up to leave them.

"Don't leave so soon," Lynn frowns, "It's Tris' initiation night."

"Initiation night?" she furrows her brows at Lynn.

"You've been here for a week and Four is going to hire you, but before you get hired you need to be initiated."

"And how do I get initiated?"

"Are you afraid of heights?" Uriah asks as he stands up and begins to strip down to just his pants. Tris blushes at the sight and I fight off a smile.

"Well, no I'm not afraid of heights."

"Oh good, she won't be as much of a wuss as Four was when he got initiated as a pinhead."

"Shut up," I throw my empty beer can at him.

"Now to be an official member of our crew, you've gotta go swimming."

"Swimming? It's one in the morning."

"Night swimming, sweetheart," Zeke stands up and crosses his arms over his chest.

"So in order to be a crew member I've got to swim in the ocean at night. When the water is too black to see through."

"Exactly," Lynn smirks.

"But that's not all. You've got to jump from the wheelhouse into the water. Luckily I'm such a nice person, I'll swim with you," Uriah grins at her.

"Alright," Tris smiles back at him and stands up, "Can I leave my clothes on though?"

"Then you're going to have to go back home in wet clothes."

"That's fine," she starts to walk out on the deck. We all follow and watch as Uriah and her climb up to the wheelhouse. Uriah gets up onto the wheelhouse first and helps her up. I stand on the lower deck and look up to watch them.

"When you jump make sure to leap," I call to her.

"Or I hit the lower deck and die?"

"Something like that."

"Well let's hope my short legs know how to leap," she stands at the edge of the wheelhouse next to Uriah. After taking a few steps back she dashes towards the end and leaps off. Her gleeful scream carries through the harbor and she splashes into the water. I go and lean over the railing as she pops up out of the water, a smile plastered on her face.

"You're supposed to let me go first!" Uriah yells to her.

"Why?"

"To make sure the water is deep enough to jump!"

"Well, it's deep enough," she treads the water to stay up.

"How's the water?" I grin at her.

"Not at cold as I thought it'd be," she splashes up some water at me with a mischievous smirk.

"Jump in Mackerel!" Lynn yells up to Uriah. He run and leaps off of the wheelhouse, making a quick flip before he hits the water with a splash. He comes up out of the water and whoops, Tris swims over to him and dunks him under. Uriah comes back out and jumps onto her, the two sink under the water again. Their heads pop up at the same time in different spots and they're both laughing.

"Not too cold, right?" Tris says to Uriah.

"Feels pretty good to me." The two swim towards the dock in the dark water with ease. Uriah pulls himself out of the water with ease and shakes like a dog. I walk off of the boat and go towards the two. Tris places her hands onto the dock and slides back into the water.

"If you kick your legs when you pull yourself up it'll be easier to get out," Uriah looks down at her. She gets her hands on the dock again and kicks her legs, her arms shake and right when she's almost out of the water she falls back in with a huff.

"Here," I stick my hand out to her, "Sometimes the dock is slippery and it's hard to get back on it."

"Thanks," she smiles up at me and takes my hand. I easily pull her up onto the dock, "So this means I'm a crew member now?"

"You're officially stuck with me, Bruiser."

* * *

_So this chapter is a little short, but don't worry the next one will be longer and there is some drama coming your way._

_Thanks for all the reviews :)_


	7. Like Old Times

**TRIS**

I wave good-bye to Lynn before I enter my apartment building. My wet hair sticks to my face and I shiver as the night air hits my body. A content sigh falls out of my lips and a smile finds its way to my mouth. Suddenly I'm laughing and I realize that I haven't been this happy ever.

Back at home joyous moments were slim to none and it took its toll on me. My parents had assumed that I was just going to be a hard working student. Focus all of my time on studying and it soon became obvious that I have a soul that needs more freedom than that. My father had been upset when I started to date and spend more time with my friends than studying and having a 4.0. My mother was a bit more understanding, she was a free spirited teenager and kept her lighthearted attitude all of her life.

Here I am laughing to myself after a night of work. I skip into my apartment and find Eric sitting on the couch watching TV. He looks over at me and furrows his brows.

"Where the hell were you?"

"I was at work, remember?"

"It's past two in the morning, Beatrice."

"I stayed late to hang out with everyone."

"And you felt like you didn't need to let me know that?"

"I'm sorry, I forgot to tell you."

"Yeah, whatever," he looks back at the TV and glares at the screen. I slowly make my way towards him, fully realizing how I messed up tonight. Carefully I sit down next to him, tucking my feet under me. I can smell whiskey on his breath and my mouth drops open.

"Have you been drinking, Eric?" I feel my body start to surge with anger.

"Why's it matter to you?" he bites back.

"Because you know how much your drinking messes everything up. You said you were done drinking. You said you wouldn't have a sip as long as you're with me."

"Well you're gone every night so who cares."

"I care," I sit up and shoot daggers at him. 

"You're never here. So I figured it doesn't matter anymore."

"I am here all day every day, I only work at night."

"Yeah and then you stay gone till the morning."

"Seriously Eric? I've only worked for a week and you're acting like this over it."

"Why'd you have to get a job with opposite hours?"

"It just happened. I didn't think it'd be that big of a deal!"

"Don't fucking yell at me," he steps up from the couch and my fingers curl into a fist out of instinct.

"You're mad that I have a job. You said I needed a job to help pay for rent and now you're pissed off that I have a job. You're ridiculous."

"You have things good here and you're fucking them all up. You're messing everything up with your job. You need to get a new one."

"I'm not getting a new job. I like the one I have and I like the people I work with."

"What all the guys you work with? Is that why you stay late? You fool around with them after hours, but I don't get shit from you."

"That was a low blow Eric. You know exactly how I feel about physical stuff."

"Yeah some dude screwed you over before me and now I can't even get laid even though I live with you."

"Go to bed, you're an ass when you drink," I mumble.

"Excuse me?" He takes a step towards me and grabs my wrist, yanking me up to my feet.

"Let go."

"Did you call me an ass," I can smell the alcohol on his lips and pull my nose up in disgust.

"You're being one. So what do you expect me to call you," I glare at him. His fingers dig into my wrist as he bends down so that we're nose to nose.

"I'm getting really sick of your attitude and if you keep it up I'm going to kick you out of my apartment."

"It's my apartment too."

"You're name isn't on the lease, princess. So watch your loud mouth."

"Oh, piss off. You're drunk and being a dick just like you used to back at home." Eric shoves me towards the floor and I feel my shoulder clip the edge of the coffee table. I stare him down from the floor, refusing to back down from a fight when I haven't done anything wrong.

"Sleep on the fucking couch," he growls and stomps out of the living room.

I hear the bedroom door slam and slowly pull myself up. Adrenalin in pumping through my veins and I feel something warm on my shoulder. "Dick," I whisper to myself as I get to my feet and walk to the bathroom. In the mirror I can see the little gash the coffee table put in my shoulder. I stick a band-aid on it and look at myself in the mirror. My blue eyes are filled with fire and my blonde hair is still damp.

Eric has always had a temper and alcohol has done nothing but fuel it. I feel like I'm not supposed to be okay with the way he treats me when he's drinking. But it's just the alcohol talking, not him. The Eric I love is sweet and would never let anyone hurt me. It's the alcohol that causes problems between us, nothing more.

I have trouble getting comfortable on the couch but eventually fall asleep. I wake up as Eric carries me to the bedroom before he leaves for work. He lays me down on the bed and places a kiss on my cheek.

"I'm so sorry for last night," he whispers into my ear.

"Just don't drink, okay?" I sleepily say as I keep my eyes closed.

"I won't. I'm sorry. Work just sucked yesterday and I needed a drink to calm down."

"You don't need a drink to calm down. Just call me next time."

"I will. I'm sorry Beatrice. I love you and I don't know why you stick around."

"Cause I love you too. Even though you're an ass sometimes." I feel his fingers lightly run over my shoulder blade and I bite back the pain.

"Your shoulder is all black and blue."

"Coffee table."

"You hit the coffee table?"

"Yup," I turn over in the bed and put my back towards him.

"I'm sorry. I'll see you tonight, okay?"

"Okay."

"Have a good shift at work and put a little ice on your shoulder today."

"I will." He places a kiss on top of my head before leaving the room. I pull the covers up to my chin and replay last night in my head. The yelling and how rough he was with me, a small part of me screams that I need to leave him. The same little part that has said Eric is bad news since the first day I met him. I push the thought aside, but it seems to rise up again. I slide my arm out from under the covers and see a light bruise from where his fingers dug into my wrist.

Caleb never wanted me to be with Eric, he saw a bruise on my arm once and immediately put two and two together. My eyes well with angry tears as I think about how upset my big brother would be with me if he knew about last night. He's protected me since day one and leaving meant I'd no longer have my safe haven. I chose to not have someone looking out for me when I moved here. I'm stronger than I used to be though, if I could handle Eric then, I can handle him now. He still loves me and he isn't going to stop loving me. I get up from bed and head towards the living room; Eric's whiskey sits on the end table still. The brown liquid stares at me and I grab the bottle, the vile smelling drink burns my nose as I pour it down the drain.


	8. Normal Night

**TOBIAS**

Shauna leans over the counter towards Zeke, a toothy grin plastered on her face. Zeke leans into her more as they continue to talk, their conversation too quiet for me to hear. Uriah stands at the stern of the boat with a line in the water. A girl stands at his side, she leans into him and stares out into the harbor. I roll my eyes as I take a seat on a bench in the galley. Zeke quickly moves away from Shauna when he notices that I'm in the galley.

"Who's the girl?" I motion towards Uriah's friend.

"Marlene. She's a girl from his class, apparently they've been talking and she said she wanted to come out on the boat with him. So she's coming along tonight."

"Alright."

Lynn walks into the galley carrying groceries and Tris follows her in. Tris keeps her eyes on the ground as she puts things away. Lynn hands her a thrity-six pack and I notice her favoring her shoulder as she lifts the beer onto the counter. The two quietly put everything away and Shauna takes a seat next to me.

"I'm coming with you guys tonight," she smiles and watches Zeke as he walks out onto the deck.

"And what do I owe this pleasure to?"

"I don't work in the morning, Cristina does. So I figured I'd hang out here with you guys."

"You get Zeke to ask you out on a date finally?"

"That's your job Four."

"I'm trying, but he's stubborn."

"He started flirting with me more," she bites her bottom lip.

"I know, you two were so busy making eyes at each other that you didn't realize I came in."

"So I'm going to fish with you guys all night and drink all of your beer."

"You're only allowed to drink all my beer if you buy me more."

"I'll just share with you," she winks at me and heads outside to Zeke.

"Are you gonna miss me after this week?" Lynn pouts.

"Actually, I'm glad I can finally get rid of you. Didn't you know I replaced you already?"

"You didn't replace me yet."

"Tris jumped, you've been replaced. You know how things work out here."

"You're gonna miss me, Four."

"Eh, maybe a little."

"You will, you just wait."

"You forget that once you leave I won't have to deal with your attitude anymore. Tris doesn't talk back." Tris smirks a little at my comment, but keeps her eyes focused on the onion that she's cutting.

"It's cause she doesn't know you well enough yet."

"Once Lynn leaves how are you going to get to and from work, Tris?"

"I only live about half a mile away, so I'm just gonna walk to work and then my boyfriend will pick me up at night. He doesn't want me walking home alone at one in the morning."

"Sounds good. I wouldn't want any of you walking home alone at night."

"Aw, are you saying you care about us Four?" Lynn bats her eyelashes.

"I'm saying I don't like having to get new employees cause my last ones disappeared," I smirk.

"Liar," Lynn glares as she throws a bag of chips at me.

**TRIS**

I find myself distracted as the night progresses, my mind seems to be somewhere else. My aching shoulder is a reminder of the fight I had with Eric last night. Even though I am surrounded by people I somehow feel alone. It's like my worries are isolating me from the things going on around me. Lynn and I finish the dinner rush after we've been at our first fishing spot for about twenty minutes. She goes out on the deck with Shauna and Marlene. The three of them share two poles. Uriah makes a point to help Marlene. Shauna flirts innocently with Zeke when he passes her and he indulges her by flirting back. The two banter with each other and I wonder how long it's been since Eric and I did something like that.

I hop up onto the cooler and rest my elbow on the counter, placing my head in my hand. The small stereo that is plugged in near the microwave plays one of Lynn's cds and I lower my jacket sleeve. The bruises around my wrist have darkened since this morning and I sigh as I think about how my shoulder must look right now. Caleb never gave me the opportunity to show him that I am strong. Strong enough to take care of myself. He made himself my protector and when I was younger I thanked him for it, but now I feel like he should've helped rough me up a bit.

If I am a brave person, why am I staying in an apartment with someone who uses physical strength to prove a point? Someone that is too afraid to use their words to figure out their emotions. I know that I'm a strong girl, but am I strong enough to protect myself if Eric gets drunk again and ends up being rougher than last night? A brave person would leave him. Pack up their stuff and find somewhere else to go, but I have nowhere else to go. I know few people in the area and can't afford to rent something by myself. Frustration tears prick at my eyes and I huff as I try to hide them. My fingers wipe them away and I blink back the other wants that want to roll down my cheeks.

"How's business?" Four stands on the deck just outside of the galley doors.

"Pretty good," I blink more to force back any other tears.

"You ready to be on your own next week?" he walks into the galley and sits on the left bench in the corner, diagonal from me.

"Yeah I am," I state, thinking about the money I'll be making. When I don't have to split it I may be able to make enough to rent a studio.

"What's on your wrist?" he furrows his brows and I pull my sleeve back up.

"It's nothing."

"It didn't look like nothing," he sits up.

"It's nothing, Four," I bite and he's taken back a bit by my attitude. I look down at my shoes and can hear him stand up.

"Let me see your shoulder," he moves closer to me.

"Why do you want to see my shoulder?"

"Because. Let me see it."

"No."

"I don't know what's going on Tris, but I have a pretty good idea of it."

"How do you know? Cause you think you saw something on my wrist."

"I know exactly what's on your wrist."

"My shoulder is fine."

"I'm just going to let you know now that a boat is a place for misfits and everyone in this crew has scars. It's just easier for someone to see another persons' scars when they have similar ones," he turns and begins to walk out of the galley.

"He was drunk," I murmur.

"Doesn't mean it's okay for him to touch you."

"I can handle myself. I'm a big girl."

"I never said you weren't."

"He loves me."

"You don't hurt someone you love."

"He didn't mean it."

"Just take care of yourself."

"I will."

The night finishes without a hitch and everyone stays after we're done cleaning. Shauna sits close to Zeke and he wraps his arm over her shoulders. Lynn grabs her sixth beer and her words have begun to slur together as she talks. Uriah is sitting on the counter with a cheesy grin on his face, he's had a few to drink tonight too. Marlene is next to him, she takes the beer out of his hand and takes a swig. The restaurant up in the parking lot has a quinceanera going on and we can hear the music in the galley.

"This is my jam!" Uriah yells as the Spanish music fills the room. He moves his shoulders up and down to the beat.

"Do you even know what they're saying?" Lynn giggles as Zeke begins dancing the same way Uriah is.

"Not a clue, but it's fucking smooth."

"Do you know what they're saying?" she asks Zeke.

"Nope, but my shoulders like it." Shauna laughs at the remark and Zeke moves closer to her. His shoulders constantly moving, she begins to copy him and moves her face closer to his. Zeke suddenly presses his lips against hers for a moment and Uriah let's out a cat-call. Shauna's cheeks turn a rosy red and she covers her face with her hands.

"Finally!" Four laughs as he brings his beer to his lips.

"Did we all just witness your guys' first kiss?" Lynn grins and Shauna starts laughing.

"We did! Huh?" I exclaim.

I'm not sure how long we stay in the galley just talking. By the time we decide to leave empty beer cans cover the table. After cleaning up we lock up and I go out onto the deck. Zeke has one of Uriah's arms over his shoulders and Uriah stumbles on the deck, laughing as he does.

"You are going to be hurting in the morning," Zeke says to his little brother.

"I think she's going to be hurting more," Shauna motions towards Lynn, who is thrown over Four's shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"Lynn will probably still be drunk when we start work tomorrow night," Four laughs.

"Maybe," Lynn laughs and she places her hands on his back, propping herself up to look around. "Um, I not driving."

"No shit," Zeke chuckles, "Shauna is gonna take you home and she'll even drop Tris off at her place."

"She's the greatest, biggest sister ever."

"I'll remember that next time you're mad at me," Shauna ruffles her hair, "Let's get you into the back seat."

Four follows us to Shauna's car, Zeke and Uriah only a few steps behind us. Marlene has Uriah's other arm over her shoulder and she makes sure to watch his feet. Zeke gets Uriah into his small truck and waves bye to us before pulling out of the parking lot. Shauna unlocks the car and I open the back door so Four can get Lynn inside. He gets her in and sits her up long enough for me to place a seatbelt over her.

"I like you," she grins at me.

"I like you too, Lynn," I laugh.

"You're nice."

"Thanks."

"Thanks for getting her in," Shauna gives Four a quick hug. I get into the passenger seat and Shauna gets in the driver's.

"Drive safe," Four says before she shuts the door.

"I will," she smiles. He shuts the door of her car and we leave. Shauna reaches my apartment after a few minutes and I wave goodbye to her. Lynn stays belted in the back, her head leaning back and mouth wide open as she sleeps. I chuckle at the sight and go inside.


	9. Where are they

**TOBIAS**

My phone's ringing wakes me up and I look over at the clock. The red light shows 4:23 and I groan as my phone keeps ringing. I haven't even been asleep for an hour and someone is calling me. Zeke's names flashes on my phones screen and I answer the call.

"Huh?" I mumble.

"Did Shauna ever text you when she got home?"

I check my phone and see that I have no new texts, "No. She didn't text you?"

"No. That's not like her. She always lets us know when she's home."

"She may have forgot after she got Lynn's drunk ass in bed."

"It's been over an hour since we left the boat. She should've gotten home within ten minutes at the most. I tried calling her and Lynn and neither of them answered."

"She probably just fell asleep, Zeke."

"No, that's not like her. I'm going to go make sure her car is at her house."

"Call me when you get there."

"I will," he hangs up the phone and I roll over in my bed. Somehow we all got in the habit of texting each other once we got home. It keeps all of us from worrying. Right as I'm almost asleep again my phone goes off.

"Zeke?" I answer, my eyes still closed.

"Her car isn't here."

"What," I sit up in my bed.

"Her car isn't here, Four."

"Retrace her route home and I'll head back over to the boat."

"Do you have Tris' number?"

"No."

"How do we even know if they got Tris home?"

"We'll figure it out. I'm going to my truck now. Call me when you find her and I'll let you know if I find her first."

"Okay," he hangs up.

I drive back to the docks and the parking lot remains fairly empty. I chew the inside of my cheeks as I become more nervous. The surrounding area is pretty dead and Shauna's car is nowhere to be found. I remember Tris mentioning that she lived in the Channel Point complexes and start to drive in that direction. I turn the corner and see lights flashing in my rear view mirror. Part of me wants to go that direction and see what is going on, worried about what I'll find. The other part of me reassures me that it's in the opposite direction of Tris' apartment. My phone rings and my heart begins to race as I answer it.

"Find her?"

"Did you see all of the police cars?'

"I didn't go over there but I know what you're talking about."

"I'm going to go check it out."

"That's the opposite direction of where they should have been going."

"I know, but I've got to make sure it's not them."

"Okay," I say and he hangs up. I drive through the parking lot at Tris' complex and don't find Shauna's car. I mentally kick myself for not talking to Tris more, if I was friendlier to her then I'd have her number and I could check on her. My phone rings again and I answer it as fast as I can.

"It's Shauna!" Zeke yells and my stomach drops to my feet, "Her car is mangled."

"What? What do you mean?" I put my truck in park and my fingers go numb with panic.

"Four, it's bad. It's really bad," he chokes out.

"I'm coming." He hangs up on me and I take a few deep breaths. The feeling in my hands is gone and my body shakes. I try to calm myself down enough to drive over and after what seems like hours I put my truck in drive. I search for Zeke's truck and see it parked near a liquor store, he's sitting on the curb with his knees pulled to his chest and his head in his hands. After parking I go straight towards him and actually look at the mess in front of me. In the middle of the intersection sits Shauna's small Subaru, a large F150 crunched into the driver's side. My stomach tightens with sickness as I sit down next to him.

"No," I whisper and find myself in a similar position as Zeke. There are a few police cars surrounding the area as well as ambulances. Glass covers the street and there is a crowd of firefighters and medics between the two vehicles, hovering around Shauna's door.

"No one has told me anything," Zeke sniffles.

"They're going to be fine."

"Shauna's still in the car, I know she is."

"Lynn?"

"I don't know," he bites his lip and my heart pounds inside of my chest.

"Was Tris with them?"

"No, Uriah had her number. He got a hold of her not too long ago, they got her home before this."

"Did you tell Uriah?"

"Yeah, he is gonna tell Tris."

We sit in silence as we watch everything unfold in front of us. Two officers are talking to a man that is obviously drunk and I have a feeling he's the driver of the truck that t-boned Shauna and Lynn. The crowd around Shauna's door is still there and we sit there waiting to catch a glimpse of her. My teeth have made the old scars on my cheeks raw, but I continue to gnaw on them.

An EMT walks by us and I ask him, "What is going on?"

"I'm sorry I can't really say."

"They're our friends."

"You know them?" Zeke and I nod in response, "We can't find any ID on either of the girls. What are they're names?"

"The blonde one is Shauna and the brunette one is Lynn. They're sisters," Zeke mumbles.

"Last name?"

"MacKenna. Are they okay?"

"We already took the one to the hospital, she's in the ER. The driver is still in the car, her door is pretty mangled and we need to be careful when we get her out. She could have a spinal injury and we don't want to make anything worse."

"They're alive though?" Zeke's bottom lip quivers.

"They're alive."

* * *

_Sorry for the short chapter and leaving you guys with a cliffhanger. I probably won't be able to update again till Sundayish, tomorrow is my boyfriend's birthday. _

_Is there anything you guys are dying to see happen? If so let me know about it and I'll try to add it in._

_As always thanks for all of the love :)_


	10. Coffee

**TRIS**

My nail beds ache with how much I've bit them, but I can't stop. Uriah paces in the waiting room, he hasn't said a word. He called me and I instantly got dressed, he picked me up and we've been at the hospital since. Zeke told us that they already took Lynn here and we decided to just come straight here. Their parents sit across from me in the waiting room and their little brother keeps his eyes focused on the ground. My stomach is nauseous when I think about how they got in the accident minutes after they dropped me off. I swallow back bile as I realize that I didn't wake Eric when I left, I shake the thought from my head. My friends being in the hospital is more important. They dropped me off at home and now I don't even know if they're okay. I feel nauseous as I think about the accident. They wouldn't have gotten in the accident if they hadn't taken me home. If I walked home they would've just gone home and everyone would be okay. If I had a license I could've driven myself home and they wouldn't have been in the intersection when the drunk driver ran the red light. Guilt begins to eat me alive and I feel smaller than a bug.

Zeke enters the waiting room and heads right over to us; Uriah pulls him into a quick hug. I stand up to give him a hug as well; it seems like something that I need to do. Zeke squeezes me tight and I grimace at the pain in my shoulder. When I open my eyes Four is in front of me and by the look he gives me I know that he knows. Once Zeke lets me go he goes towards Shauna and Lynn's family, he whispers to them and I stand there awkwardly.

"How's Lynn?" Four asks me and I notice the dark circles under his eyes.

"They haven't told us anything. Shauna?"

"Not good," he shakes his head. I sit back down and he takes a seat next to me.

"I feel like this is my fault," I whisper.

"This is no one's fault but the idiot who decided he could drive even though he couldn't walk," Four crosses his arms over his chest.

"If they didn't take me home they wouldn't have been in that intersection."

"If they didn't take you home someone else would've. We're not going to let you walk home that early in the morning."

"What are we gonna do?" I whimper.

"We'll figure it out," he places his hand on my leg and gives me a reassuring squeeze.

Sometime during the morning we all became too tired to keep our heavy eyes open. Sunlight coming through the windows wakes me up and for a second I forget where I am. My head is resting on Four's shoulder and he is slumped back in his chair, his cheek on my head. Zeke and Uriah are both sleeping across from us and the MacKennas are gone. The clock on the wall reads seven and I realize that we've only been asleep for about an hour. I readjust myself and the movement wakes Four up, he yawns and rubs his eyes.

"They're gone," I motion to where Lynn and Shauna's family had been sitting.

"Let's go see if we can find anything out," he gets up from his chair and I do the same. We walk towards the front desk and I find my nails in my mouth again. We discover that Lynn's family is with her and that she's okay, just banged up. I follow Four to the cafeteria and we each get a coffee, I sit across from him and place my hands on the paper cup in front of me. The heat soothes them and we sit in silence for a bit.

"I'm glad you weren't in the car with them," he says not looking at me.

"Me too. Do you think Shauna is going to be okay?"

"She's strong, she'll pull through anything."

"What are we gonna do about work?"

"Cancel tonight's trip, none of are in a good state of mind to work. Christina is going to have to work day shifts until Shauna comes back and I think it's safe to say you're our twilight cook now. I don't really see Lynn coming back to work between this and school."

"Yeah," I nod.

"It's going to be okay."

"I know, I'm just stressed out."

"We all are." Four's phone rings and he answers it, "Hi, Mom. Lynn is okay; we haven't heard anything about Shauna though. I will. I know. You too." He hangs up the phone and I feel an ache in my chest as the realization that I haven't talked to my mother since I left Chicago hits me.

"What's wrong?" he looks me over.

"Just homesick I guess."

"And where is home?"

"It was Chicago until I came here with Eric," he gives me a small grin. "What?"

"Chicago was home for me too at one point."

"You're from Chicago?"

"I was born there, didn't move here till I was sixteen."

"Where did you live?"

"West Town," he takes a sip of his coffee, "You?"

"East Village."

"We were practically neighbors."

"I guess we were," I grin, "What school did you go to?"

"Clemente."

"Shut up."

"I did, I swear."

"I graduated from there."

"No you didn't."

"I swear," I laugh.

"I went there my freshman and sophomore year."

"So that means you left the year I came in."

"I guess so. Small world, huh?"

"Smaller than you'd think," I play with the coffee cup in front of me.

"What's Tris stand for?"

"Beatrice. What's Four for?"

"I'll tell you why I have that nickname, but I'm not going to tell you my first name."

"Why not?"

"Cause I don't want to. Now do you want to know why people call me Four?"

"Yes, I do," I smile at him.

"My mom was originally from here, her parents lived here when I was little. She moved to Chicago for school, but when I was growing up my mom made sure to come here for at least a week every summer. Even after she had me she continued to come here. My grandpa loved to go fishing and he always fished on the SoCal. Once I was old enough for him to handle, he was never much of a baby person, he took me out on the boat for the first time. Harrison was a deckhand when my grandpa brought me out for the first time."

"You've known Harrison that long?" I interrupt.

"I've known him for about my whole life. Harrison was always really good about helping little kids catch something, so he helped me the whole day. He finally asked me what my name was and I responded with four, because I had recently turned four so my mother was constantly asking me. She wanted it to get in my head that I wasn't three anymore. Harrison just started calling me Four and once I started working for him everyone started calling me that. It's gotten to the point that my friends introduce me as Four."

"So you gave yourself the nickname."

"I guess I did," he smiles.

"You know, you're not so scary when you're being friendly."

"Same goes for you."

"I'm friendly."

"According to you, I know you've got an attitude."

"Shut up, Four," I glare at him.

"Yeah, you're right, you're as sweet as they come," he holds back a smirk then his face goes serious, "How's your shoulder?"

"Fine. Stop asking about it."

"I'm not stupid, I know there is something wrong with it. When Zeke hugged you, you bit back the pain."

"It's nothing."

"If you say so," he stands up, "We should go check on Lynn." I nod and follow him out of the cafeteria.


	11. Kings Cup

**TOBIAS**

Lynn is sitting up in her bed, staring blankly at the tv when we all come in the room. She looks out the window after noticing us. Her right eye is purple and her lips still have dried blood on them. There are bandages here and there on her body, but just from looking at her you wouldn't realize she was in such a bad crash.

"Did you hear about Shauna?" she gulps and looks down at her hands.

"They won't tell us anything," Zeke's shaky voice answers.

"They don't know if she's going to walk again," she chokes out and her eyes well with tears. Zeke's breath catches in his throat and Uriah's mouth falls open for a second.

"What?" Zeke can barely answer.

"How the truck hit her car compressed her lower spine too much and she can't feel her legs anymore," tears roll down her cheeks, "They don't think she'll be able to walk anymore."

Zeke leans against the wall and slides down to the floor, he puts his face in his arms and stares at the floor. I can hear Tris gulp next to me and she walks over to Lynn, who is wiping tears from her cheeks. Tris gently climbs onto the bed next to her and pulls Lynn into her. Lynn lets out muffled cries into Tris' shoulder and I can see a few tears find their way down Tris' cheeks. Tris doesn't wipe the tears, she just lets them fall, and she never says a word to Lynn. She just sits next to her. The door opens and Christina walks into the room, her eyes are red and puffy. She goes straight to Lynn and climbs onto the other side of the bed. The three girls sit silently together and I go sit next to Zeke on the floor. Uriah is in the chair in the corner and we all stay silent for what seems like forever.

"This sucks," Lynn finally breaks our silence.

"Yeah it does, but we can't let Shauna see us like this," Christina squeezes her hand.

"This is all my fault," Lynn cries.

"This isn't any of our fault," Tris glances at me for a moment, then looks at Lynn.

"I told her I wanted to get a Gatorade. I was the one who made her go to the liquor store. If I kept my mouth closed she would be okay right now."

"It's not your fault. It's the jerk who drove drunk," Christina states, "Shauna is going to be okay. We're going to be here for her and it's going to be okay. Life just sucks right now, but it'll get better."

**TRIS**

Uriah sits across from me at the table, next to Will. Christina sits next to me, her eyes focused on Will. Will leans back in the bar stool, his foot hooked onto the table to keep him from falling. In the middle of us sits a large cup that has acquired a few different alcohols in it. Around the cups are cards facing down and in front of each of us sits our drink of choice. There is a vodka cranberry in front of Christina, beer in front of Will and Uriah and there is a glass of wine in front of me. Christina's parents are gone for the week so she decided we needed to spend one of our days off hanging out at her house. It was Will's idea to play kings cup and after the first round most of us had a good buzz going.

"Three, me," Will drinks his beer.

"Six, dicks," Christina smirks at the boys and they cheers before taking a swig of their beers.

"King, that's our third king this round right?" I ask as I pour some of my wine in the middle cup.

"Yes it is," Uriah says with a devilish grin.

"Poor sucker has to drink beer mixed with wine," Will chuckles.

"Four. Drink up whores," Uriah points to Christina and I, we clink our glasses together before drinking.

"Three. Me? This game hates me," Will groans and finishes his beer before cracking open another one.

"Ace, snake eyes!" Christina yells.

"Snake eyes?" I ask.

"Snake eyes means I get to pick someone who has snake eyes. No one is allowed to look at the person with snake eyes and if you do you have to drink."

"Ooo I like this rule," Uriah grins.

"Good, you're snake eyes," she says and quickly turns away from him.

"Two, you. Drink up snake eyes," I say while avoiding looking at Uriah.

"Seven," Uriah says and throws his hands up in the air, the three of us copy him, Christina's hands are the last in the air so she takes a drink of her vodka.

"Jack," Will says and we all put up five fingers, ready to play never have I ever. "Never have I ever been stung by a sculpin," Uriah and Christina both put down a finger.

"Never have I ever had fish poisoning," Christina says causing Will and Uriah to each put a finger down.

"Fish poisoning?" I raise my eyebrows.

"When you're filleting fish sometime you knick yourself. If you get too much fish blood into your cut you end up getting fish poisoning. The cut swells up and if it gets really bad you need to get a tetanus shot and some antibiotics."

"Oh, well I've never had that. Never have I ever filleted a fish," I smirk at Will, him and Uriah each put a finger down. Christiana has four fingers up, Will has three, Uriah has two and I have five.

"You know I feel like Tris is cheating, we need to get her to put some fingers down," I can feel Uriah playfully glare at me, but I make sure not to look at him. "Never have I ever been to Chicago."

"That was aimed strictly at me," I frown and put a finger down.

"I can't let you win."

"Never have I ever had sex in the backseat of a car," Will flashes a grin at Uriah who puts a finger down.

"I feel like you guys are trying to get me out now," Uriah groans, "Hey you looked at me! Drink!"

"Damn it," Will mumbles and takes a swig of beer.

"Never have I ever gotten a tattoo," Christina smiles and Uriah drinks his beer.

"Whoever losses this round of kings cup has to get a tattoo," Will's eyes widen at his idea.

"I like that idea," Christina smiles before she pulls out another card, "On second thought I don't like that idea anymore."

"Did you just pull the last king?" Will bites his lip in excitement.

"Maybe," she says as she grabs the large cup in the middle of the table. She plugs her nose and begins to chug it. We all make disgusted faces as she pours the liquid down her throat.

"So lets go get you that tattoo," Uriah stands up from the table; his body sways a little before he regains his balance.

"Good thing there is a tattoo shop walking distance from here," Will laughs.

We walk to the tattoo parlor together, still giddy from the alcohol that we recently drank. Will walks close to Christina, the two whisper to each other. Uriah walks next to me.

"Those two have been flirting with each other for so long it's stupid," he mumbles to me.

"Why doesn't Will just make a move?"

"I'm not sure."

"How's Marlene?" I grin at him.

"She's good," he gives me a toothy smile.

"Just good?"

"We're just friends right now."

"But you want to be more," I shove him a little with my shoulder.

"Yeah, but I want to get to know her a little more."

"That's always good."

"Yeah, she's really cool. She goes along with my ideas but seems to one up them all of the time."

"Sounds exactly like something you need."

"Pretty much," he smiles as we all enter the tattoo shop.

Christiana decides to get a tattoo of flames on the inside of her bicep. Uriah and I explore the tattoo shop together, looking at all of the flash that lines the walls. A black raven catches my eye; I run my finger over the bird. One of the tattoo artists asks me, "You getting something today?" I look at the bird once more.

"Not today, but maybe next time," I smile at him.

Will goes and sits next to Christina, who is laying down on a table. One of the tattoo artists gets set up to start on her. Uriah and I sit down next to each other a little farther away from them. The buzzing of the machine fills the shop and we watch as Christina grimaces at first but then kind of laughs.

"I though this was going to hurt so much more," her face distorts and she sucks in a sharp breath, "Okay apparently that spot hurts more." Will laughs at her and grabs a hold of her hand, she gives him a small smile in return.

"Well isn't that adorable," Uriah whispers to me.

"Just the cutest."

"What do you think of the boat?"

"I love it."

"Yeah?"

"Definitely. It's probably one of my favorite places to be."

"Mine too," he smiles at me.

"Do you know how Lynn has been?"

"She's alright, still shaken up. She should be leaving the hospital tomorrow. We still don't know what's going to happen with Shauna," he frowns.

"How's Zeke taking it?"

"He's been pretty strong, I think he wants to be Shauna's rock."

"He's good for her."

"I think she's good for him."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. She's always been good for him. Harrison hired her for the day shift when Zeke had just started working for Four as his pinhead. Four and Zeke met at school and just became inseparable right away. Four told Zeke about the boat and sure enough that summer they were working with each other. Shauna's parents have friends that know Harrison and that's how she ended up on the boat. Four helped train her and Zeke was infatuated with her right away. I think he's missed working with her since Four put him on the twilight crew, but I like the twilight shift more than the day shift. Shauna and Zeke have always had chemistry and she's calmed him down a bit. When we were younger he was pretty rebellious. Four and him would go out at night and sometimes they'd come home plastered and other times they wouldn't come home. Working didn't calm them down but Shauna did. She mentioned one night that she doesn't like guys who do nothing but get fucked up."

"So Zeke stopped drinking so much?"

"Yeah he did and without his partner in crime, Four calmed down a bit too. When Harrison told Four he wanted to teach him how to captain, he became a totally different person. He just grew up over night. I guess Shauna was good for both of them."

"It sounds like it."

Christina gets up from the table and strides over to us. She raises her arm to show us the ink and Uriah gives her a high-five.

"Next time I'm not going to drunkenly agree that the loser has to get a tattoo," she laughs.

"But it looks pretty nice, it's kind of sexy," Will grins at her and her cheeks turn pink.

"So sexy," Uriah mocks him, which gets him a fist to the shoulder.

"Wanna go see Lynn?" I ask the group and they nod.

"Can any of us drive?" Uriah chuckles.

"Tris barely had anything to drink," Christina points to me.

"Yeah, I don't know how to drive."

"What? Seriously?"

"Yeah, it just never happened."

"That's kind of adorable," Uriah says as he throws an arm over my shoulders. We all exit the shop and head towards Christina's house.

"I'm good to drive," Will says.

"Are you sure?" I ask.

"I only had a beer and a half and it's been a least an hour since I drank."

"Okay, so Will will drive us to see Lynn."

"Perfect," Christina smiles.

* * *

_Hello loves, I know I didn't get to update yesterday, but things have been busy with the holidays. _

_I've taken all of your ideas into consideration and have played around with them a bit in the story. I hope you like how I decide to use them. I'm always open to options so like I said if there is anything you're dying to see happen just let me know and I may fit it in. _

_I figured a light-hearted chapter would be nice after the last two plus the next one is going to have some big things happen._

_I've decided that I'm going to try to update at least once every three days, sometimes it'll be more often, other times it might be less. But I assure you that there will be at least one new chapter every week._

_Anyway, Merry Christmas guys!_


	12. Eric

**TRIS**

I spend my day off cleaning my apartment; Eric has been avoiding me since he shoved me into the coffee table. Lynn is feeling better, just sore from the impact. Shauna is still in the hospital, but she seems to be adjusting to being in a wheelchair. She took it hard when she was told she might not walk again, but she's determined and with her determination she's bound to get some mobility back with therapy. Her therapy starts in the next two weeks.

I organize the magazines sitting on the coffee table once I'm finished dusting everything. This apartment doesn't feel like home yet, even though I've been here for almost a month. It doesn't have the warm feeling that my parents' house has. Since our fight Eric has ignored me and our apartment feels colder than ever. Our walls are bare, but photos line the walls of the house I grew up in. My heart feels heavier than ever with the realization that I miss having a place that is a home.

Negative thoughts fill my head and I get stuck in the black hole that is my thoughts. I go out to the balcony and stand in the warm California weather, but my body seems to not feel the heat. If I jumped off of this balcony who would care? Would my parents feel like they failed me when they stopped keeping in contact? Or would they forget that I ever existed? My hands tremble at the thought of them not caring and I shake the vile thoughts from my skull. I go inside and sit on the couch, these feelings haven't risen up in years and at one point Eric helped keep them at bay, but Caleb, Caleb has always kept these negative feelings from consuming me.

I pull my phone out and dial his number, it rings a few times and I begin to feel nauseous. As I'm about to end the call I hear his familiar voice, "Beatrice?"

"Caleb," I breathe out and tears well in my eyes.

"What's wrong?"

"I'm sad here," I whisper.

"Then come home. Mom would let you come back home in a heart beat, you know that."

"What about Dad?"

"He's hardheaded, but he still loves you."

"I'm sad but there is a part of me that loves it here."

"Then what is making you sad?"

"Eric."

"Did he hit you?" I can hear the change in Caleb's voice as he asks.

"He didn't hit me, but he pushed me. I messed up my shoulder."

"He messed up your shoulder, not you," I can picture the sternness in his eyes as he talks to me.

"I don't know what to do."

"Leave him. Pack everything up and leave. You are too good for him."

"I have no where to go."

"Stay in a motel until you have somewhere to go."

"I'll think about it."

"Beatrice, I know you're in love with the seventeen year old kid you met at a party. But he isn't that kid anymore. I'm not sure he ever was that kid."

"I know."

"I've got class, but I'll call you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay."

"I love you."

"I love you too, Caleb."

I decide against packing my things up and opt to talk things through with Eric. Even if we don't do well as a couple, maybe we can just be roommates. The door slams open when he gets home from work and I can smell the whiskey on him.

"Seriously? You went to a bar, Eric?" anger pulses through my bloodstream.

"You're not my fucking mother, Beatrice."

"No, but I'm your girlfriend and you're supposed to respect me."

"You are the farthest thing from a girlfriend. I mean I can barely get you to make out once in a while."

"I'm sorry that I'm afraid of intimacy Eric, but you know why I am that way."

"Cause some Peter kid put some shit in your drink and took a little advantage of you."

"Glad to know that it doesn't bug you that some douchebag guy tried to get into my pants without my permission."

"He didn't even screw you."

"I don't care if he screwed me or not, he still touched me."

"At least someone got to touch you," he glares at me. My eyes widen with disbelief at his remark and my hand hits his cheek, hard. He instantly grabs my wrist and keeps his eyes on my own.

"Let go of me," I growl.

"You think you are allowed to just hit me?"

"You've hit me before, what's the difference?"

"I'm your boyfriend."

"You're nothing to me. And having a dick doesn't mean you get to hit me when you're pissed off."

"I pay for you to live here and I took you here in the first place."

"And you've been holding that over my head since we got here. You also seem to forget that I pay part of our rent here." I struggle to get out of his grasp, but he holds onto me tighter.

"You should be thanking me for helping you leave Chicago."

"I should punch you in the face for how many times you've decided that it's okay to hit me. I don't owe you any thanks." He lets go of my wrist and for a moment I think that I've won this battle. He turns away from me for a second, but the next one his fist collides with my cheekbone. The blow knocks me off of my feet and onto my ass, I lightly press my hand to my throbbing face and glare daggers at him.

"You need to watch your mouth," he points his finger at me.

"I don't need to watch anything. I'm done with you," I stand up and head towards the door.

"I'm not done talking to you, Beatrice," he reaches for me and I run the opposite direction. His hand gets entwined with my hair and I grab his wrist, digging my nails into his skin.

"Let go!"

"Make me," he sneers at me. I twist towards his body and throw a punch into his stomach. I can hear the air leave his lungs and his grip loosens on my hair. Before I can get away his hand pushes me into a wall, I make sure not to fall down as he reaches for me again. Before he can grab me I slam my heel onto his foot, when he goes to grab his foot I throw one punch at his jaw and sprint towards the door leaving the apartment, my keys jingle in my pocket and I can feel my phone in the other one.

Once my adrenalin slows down I stop running and frustrated tears roll down my cheeks. I pull the hood of my sweatshirt over my head and grab my phone, it's two in the morning and I panic about where I'm going to go. My feet continue moving forward and I let them go wherever they want. The streetlights keep the sidewalk in sight for me and my jaw still throbs. Fighting with Eric has aggravated my shoulder and it aches as I walk.

After walking aimlessly for ten minutes I recognize my surroundings. I'm only a few streets away from the boat and at the moment that sounds like the most reassuring place to be. I run the remaining distance to the boat and find it docked in the dark water. The sight of it calms my panicked body as I head over to it. This boat is the one place that I am happy and it feels safe. I climb over the railing and walk around for a bit, the movement calming me more. Around three in the morning my eyes can't stay open anymore and I climb up to the upper deck. I know the wheelhouse will be locked but after taking a look at the life raft that's tied down it looks like the most comfortable spot to catch some shuteye. I crawl into the boat and pull my sweatshirt around my body, keeping my hood on to stay warm. It only takes minutes before I feel sleep calling me.

* * *

_Here is the start of some drama for you guys_

_What do you think is going to happen?_


	13. Morning Surprise

**TOBIAS**

My phone wakes me up and I groan in disgust, "Hello."

"Kid, you're working the day shift today."

"Harrison?"

"Yeah, get ready and come to work."

"What? Why? I work tonight."

"No, you're working today and I'm working tonight."

"Why? Harrison, you're making no sense. You're supposed to be at the boat already."

"I am here, but you need to work the quarter day."

"I'm not even out of bed."

"Then get out of bed, boy."

"Are you screwing with me?"

"Tobias, just come to the boat. There is something you need to deal with."

"Um, okay. I'll be there in twenty."

I throw on a sweatshirt, jeans and a Chicago Cubs hat. After writing a note for my mom and leaving it on the counter I head outside to my truck. The sunrises in front of me as I drive to the bay and I can't help but be curious. Harrison never switches shifts and he never calls me by my name. Something big has to have happened for him to call me after he got to the boat. A yawn escapes my mouth and I stretch as I get out of my truck, I slip on my deckboots. I pull the hood of my sweatshirt over my head as the cool morning air picks up and head down to the dock. Will is sitting in the galley with Christina, who is prepping for the day.

"Heard you're boss man today," Christina grins at me.

"Apparently, where is Harrison?"

"Up top, he's waiting for you."

"I'll see you guys later," they both nod and I climb up the ladder to the upper deck. Harrison is standing outside of the wheelhouse and the door is closed behind him.

"Goodmorning, Bud," he nods at me.

"Morning," I reply confused as to why the wheelhouse is closed.

"Come talk to me," he walks over to the life raft and props up a leg on the railing. I sit next to him, trying to read his expression.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

"I'm fine."

"Why aren't you working today?"

"You've got to work and you're going to need the night off."

"Why?"

"When I got here this morning I found your cook curled up on here," he points to the life raft that we're sitting on. "She was sound asleep."

"My cook? Lynn?"

"No, your new cook."

"Tris?" I raise my eyebrow.

"I woke her up when I got here but she wouldn't tell me why she was sleeping on the boat."

"Is she okay?" My mind wanders to her shoulder and wrist.

"She looks like she got in a fight," he shakes his head in disgust.

"Her boyfriend," I bite my lip and my hands curl into fists.

"I got her into the wheelhouse and she's sleeping now, I don't think she had anywhere to go."

"She hasn't lived in the area for very long and only has her boyfriend."

"I don't know what to do for her, but I figured she'd be more comfortable waking up and seeing someone she knows. So you work today and figure out what she needs so she doesn't need to sleep outside tonight."

"Yeah," I look out towards the breakwater.

Tris is under the covers in the far corner of the bed, with her back pressed up against the wall. Her sweatshirt hood is pulled over her face, covering her eyes. I make sure to close all of the windows of the boat, trying to keep the wheelhouse quiet so she can sleep longer. She stirs a bit when I give everyone on the boat a rundown about how our day is going to be. By eight we're already anchored to our first spot and I go down to the galley to get coffee to keep me awake. Christina is busy making breakfast and Will is outside helping on the deck.

"How's Tris?" Christina asks with her back toward me, keeping her focus on the grill.

"Tired, she hasn't even woken up yet."

"What do you think happened?"

"Her boyfriend. There's something going on there but she hasn't said anything about it to anyone," I grab a cup and fill it with coffee.

"Do you think she's going to go back to him?"

"I don't know, but she won't be going back there if I can help it."

"You like her, huh?" Christina turns to me with a grin.

"I care if anyone on this boat is hurt."

"You're such a bad liar, you've got the hots for her."

"I'm not lying."

"Hi, I'm Christina, I can tell when anyone is lying," she puts her hand out towards me.

"Shut up."

"You should go check on your little friend upstairs, don't want her to wake up all alone."

"She's sleeping."

"Just go find out what happened and then come and tell me," she smirks.

"You're nosy."

"Don't act so shocked, I've always been this way," she goes back to the grill and I go back upstairs.

I open the door quietly and make sure to shut it softly. Tris has moved in the bed and is now sleeping on the opposite side away from the wall. Her hood shifted and I can see the purple that is under her eye. I stand next to the bed and look closer at her, her cheekbone is the most bruised and only the bottom part of her eye is black. My radio goes off and I hear another captain asking about the weather in Catalina. The noise wakes up Tris, she stretches and hums a bit before opening her eyes. She looks at me for a second then looks down into the covers.

"Good morning to you too," I give her a small smile.

"Harrison told me to sleep in here," she avoids looking at me.

"I know, I already talked to him."

"How come you're here?"

"Harrison called me and told me I needed to work the day shift, apparently he found my cook sleeping on the boat."

"I didn't know where to go."

"You should've called me."

"Isn't that inappropriate?"

"I may be your boss, but I'm your friend too and friends help each other out."

"I was just so angry last night and this is the one place that I feel safe."

"What happened?" I get on the bed across from her and she sits up against the wall.

"Eric and I got in a fight."

"How's he look?"

"Better than me," she shakes her head.

"You didn't even get one good hit in?"

"I got one, but I doubt I even bruised his jaw," she frowns and I can't help but grin a bit.

"You should've used your knees or elbows, you're small."

"Well next time I'm in a fight I'll remember that," she looks up at me and gives me a small smile.

"Let's hope you're not in any more fights. What happened?"

"He came home drunk last night. And you know what's funny? I've been thinking about leaving him, just taking my stuff and going. Cause I've finally had enough of him and yesterday I called my brother to ask him about it and he told me that I needed to leave before things got worse, but know what I did? I decided that I was going to stay, that I didn't need to pack up my stuff. Then Eric came home drunk as shit and I guess things got worse," she bites her bottom lip as her eyes well with tears but then she smiles a little. Her head rests against the wall behind her and she takes in a sharp breath as she hugs herself.

"Why'd he hit you?"

"Cause I gave him an attitude after he told me that he didn't need to respect me cause I'm the farthest thing from what a girlfriend is," she muffles a small sob with a sleeved hand and then there is no noise. I want to pull her into me and wrap her up in my arms. Trying to fix this, this heartache she is experiencing. A part of me feels wounded as I watch her silently cry, cause I've felt the way she feels before. Someone you trust isn't supposed to abuse your trust and convince you that you deserve it. Her face turns towards the window and the sunlight hits her skin, it's then that I see the streaks of tears down her cheeks. I can tell she's trying to be strong, but she's been hurt to the point that she can't talk about it, she can only let her sadness take over her body. All I can do for her at this moment is leave her be, let her release everything she's held inside of her.

"Hey, it'll be okay. I'll help you figure something out," I eventually whisper to her, sick of feeling helpless as she falls apart from the inside. I place my hand on hers and she grabs mine in response. Her blue eyes find mine and she gives me a small nod before wiping her sleeve over her cheeks with a sigh, taking all of the moisture off of them but leaving her eyes puffy and red.

* * *

_The chapter is finally here, I know I made you guys wait. But it was worth it, right?_

_Seriously you guys are awesome, you make me want to write all day every day!_


	14. In the Wheelhouse

**TRIS**

I stay sitting up in the bed, my back against the wall so I can look out the windows at the ocean. Sunrays bounce off the waves and create glitter everywhere, I focus on the water surrounding me instead of the pieces my heart is in. Four is sitting in the chair behind the wheel, his deck boot covered feet propped up. There is classic rock music playing from the small stereo, just soft enough to give us some background noise. He hums along to the music as he watches all the radars in front of him.

We stay in a comfortable silence for the rest of the morning, not discussing my situation. If his eyes meet mine he'll give me a small smile before going back to doing whatever he was doing before. He seems to belong on the water, as the boat rolls with the waves he moves around without a problem. As if his legs already now how to rock back and forth with the current.

"Who is going to work for me tonight?" I ask after realizing that Lynn hasn't been in working shape since the accident.

"Christina is going to pull a double, I already talked to her about it," he keeps his eyes on the fish finder.

"I can do it, I don't want her to pick up my slack."

"She's fine with doing it and she isn't picking up your slack."

"I can do it."

"I know you can, but I'm not going to let you. I'm not saying it's physically impossible for you to do it or that you're not strong enough to do it, I'm saying that I don't want you to do it. So as your boss I'm not going to let you do it."

"Okay," I say a bit defeated.

I hear the click of the PA system and he says, "Reel your lines in gang, the fish here aren't biting. So I'm going to head to a new spot. We'll get there in about twenty minutes, so it's a good time to go grab a beer." He stands up and I can hear Will pull the anchor up.

"I don't know what I'm gonna do," I mumble to myself.

"What?"

I look up at Four, surprised that he overhead me, "Nothing."

"How do you expect us to be friends if you won't talk to me?"

"I don't know what to do from here."

"You leave him."

"I have no where to go."

"I have a guest room at my place, you can stay there for as long as you need."

"Really?"

"Yes, Tris. You need somewhere to go and I've got a space. We work all the same shifts together, so I can even take you to and from work."

"You don't have to do that for me."

"I want to."

"Why? You barely know me."

"Cause we've got the same scars," he keeps his eyes on the water in front of him as he effortlessly steers the boat.

"What do you mean by that?"

"I know what you're dealing with."

"Someone's hit you before?"

"Something like that."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. I don't see them anymore."

"I'm still sorry, no one should have to deal with that."

"Then why did you?" He turns around to look at me for a second.

"I felt like I deserved it, cause I never gave him everything he wanted."

"No one deserves to be abused."

"Did you always know it was wrong?"

"When I was little I was convinced that it was something I needed, but that's only cause he used to tell me it 'was for my own good.'"

"When did you realize that it wasn't?"

"When my mom took me."

"Was it your dad?" He nods at me and for a minute he looks lost.

"My mom screwed up for a while, but after I understood everything I couldn't even be mad at her. She cheated and they unofficially split up for a while, but she left me with him. Figured it was best for me to be in a place that I was already comfortable with, better to keep me in familiar surroundings instead of tear me away from everything. Things got worse once she left. It was like he was afraid of me, like he had to break me before I out grew him so I wouldn't ever fight back when I got older. He didn't treat my mom right either, but I never realized that other kids' parents weren't like that."

"But she came back for you?"

"She cheated on him because she craved love. When she left she went haywire for a while, hung out at bars into the late hours of the night, fooled around with more men than she can count on her two hands. She wasn't the same mother that was once my ally, but then she came back one day. She came with divorce papers and told him that she was done with him."

"What'd he do?"

"Fought it, see the problem is that he holds a position that gives him power and a public divorce isn't something he wanted to damper his reputation."

"How'd she get him to go through with it?"

"Told him that she'd expose him for what he really is if he didn't sign the papers. He couldn't bear the thought of his reputation going down the drain, nor could he fathom leaving his home. He told her that he wanted the house and wanted her to leave quietly, which was the only way he'd sign the papers. He wanted her out of the state."

"So she did?"

"At first she laughed at the option, she was sure she would get the house and she didn't want to pack up all of her things and leave. They fought with each other for a couple of months, until one night he left me with her. I was just a teenage kid, sixteen-years-old, but I'd been put through the ringer with him. She could tell instantly that I wasn't the same person anymore and she realized that all she actually wanted was me. After that night she told him she'd leave him everything, the house the money. Anything he wanted and that'd she'd leave. He'd never hear from her again, not even for money to help support me. At first he was confused about what she met, but she told him that the only way she'd make the deal was if he signed over all custody to her. He didn't think twice about the offer, he got everything he wanted and he didn't have to support a kid anymore. And I honestly think he was afraid of me, but I don't know why."

"He sounds awful."

"He is and if I never see him again it'll be too soon."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be. My mom took me and moved here. We lived with her parents until they passed away, they left the house in her name and we still live there. My grandparents took care of us and my grandpa continued to take me out here. He told me that the rough waters will make any boy into a good man. So he pushed me towards the boat at first, but it wasn't long until he would have to drag me off of it."

"He was right," I look straight into his eyes and he gives me a sheepish grin before looking out on the water again.

"I hope so."

"He was."

We spend the afternoon holed up in the wheelhouse and for the first time since starting work I realize how handsome Four is. His deep-set blue eyes seem to take everything in around him and they match the color of the water that surrounds us. His voice is smooth and low and when he talks I feel relaxed. The muscles in his arms flex just a little as he turns the large steering wheel of the boat. Everything he does in the wheelhouse is graceful and seems to have been practiced numerous times. We get to the second spot and Will anchors the boat, Four yawns and rubs his eyes.

"Move over," his low voice rumbles and I get goose bumps for a minute at he sound of it. I scoot over and he falls onto the bed next to me, "I'm going to pass out," he mumbles into the pillow.

"Did you get any sleep?"

"Not enough," his voice is quieter and it seems like it only takes moments for him to fall asleep. I stay upright in the bed and look at him closely, his hair is so short that it almost looks black but when the sun hits it I can tell that it's actually a dark brown. There is a scar on his chin and I find myself wondering how he got it. His hooked nose has freckles that sparsely dot it and I figure he must've gained them from the sun. I find myself drifting off to sleep again and my body still aches from the night before.

When I wake up the boat is rocking and rolling like I've never experienced. Four stands up at the wheel, navigating through the rough waters. I sit up and get out of the bed, when my feet find the floor my legs aren't sure how to balance themselves out. We hit a swell and I fall forward into Four.

"Careful there, Bruiser," he chuckles.

"How do you stay so still in this kind of water?"

"I've got a few years of being out here under my belt. Come stand over here and watch the water. Sometimes watching the water makes it easier cause you know what's coming."

I stand next to him and keep my eyes focused on the water in front of us. My eyes watch his stance and I mimic his movements. I eventually get comfortable with the feeling and find myself moving with the water easily. The bow of the boat is visible to me and I can see Will standing on it, his back to the horizon.

"See that?" Four asks and points to a large swell that we're headed to. I nod and he gets a mischievous smirk on his face.

"What?"

"Watch Will," he bites his full lower lip in excitement and slightly turns the boat to the oncoming swell. We crash into it and a wave of water comes over the front of the bow, soaking Will in the process. I cover my mouth in shock then hear Four's deep laughter, I laugh with him. Will looks up to the wheelhouse and gives us a middle finger, which only makes us laugh harder.

"I hate you!" Will yells towards us.

"Liar!" Four yells out of the window back to him.

* * *

_I know I updated quick, I've had a wicked case of insomnia so I've been writing more than usual. _

_As always, thanks for all of the reviews. And I love constructive criticism, so if you have any tips or want to point out any flaws in my writing, please do so. _

_Where shall I go with the story from here?_


	15. New Home

**TOBIAS**

I can see Uriah and Zeke come onto the boat minutes after my passengers leave. They immediately start helping Will clean everything up. Christina sits outside and watches the guys. Tris is once again under the covers of the bed, sound asleep. Her long blonde hair is a mess on the pillow. I lean on the bed and place a hand on her shoulder.

"Wake up, Bruiser," I whisper. She stretches and gets tangled up in the sheets while humming to herself. Her big blue eyes blink open and she goes to rub her eyes but stops, "You probably don't want to touch that eye of yours."

"Yeah I almost forgot that it's black and blue right now," her voice is thick with sleep.

"Come on, we've got to go home."

"We're docked?"

"Yeah we are, you ready to go?" she nods and swings her legs off of the bed. She follows me out of the wheelhouse and down to the deck.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Zeke gives me a strange look.

"I worked the quarter day trip."

"Why?"

"Long story," I say and he sees Tris coming down the ladder.

"What's up, Bruiser?" he gives her a toothy smile.

"Nothing much," she smiles back at him and his eyes widen when he sees her eye.

"What the hell happened?"

"Long story," she frowns.

"Christina is cooking tonight for you guys, I'm taking Tris with me."

"Yeah, I'll see you guys tomorrow."

Tris stands close to me, keeping her black eye hidden. She bites at her fingernails and I put an arm over her shoulders. I lead her off of the boat and to my truck, she stands by me as I pull off my boots and throw them into the bed. On her feet is the same pair of converse she's worn since Lynn first brought her on the boat. My truck beeps as I unlock it and Tris gives me an odd look then looks back at my raised truck.

"Is this a joke?" she crosses her arms over her chest and stares at my truck. For a moment I'm confused until I realize how high the truck is compared to her.

"Looks like you're going to have to jump in," I chuckle.

"How do you even get in this thing?"

"For me it's not that high off of the ground."

"Giant," she mumbles as she opens the door and hops into the truck. I climb in and sit in the seat next to her.

"It's not that high, you were able to get in."

"Yeah, yeah."

We pull into my driveway and I can tell that she's a bit uncomfortable being at a place she doesn't know. I get out of the truck and she jumps out of the passenger's side. She follows me into the house and I can hear The Eagles playing from the living room, which means my mother must be cleaning the house. I follow the noise with Tris in tow, I find my mother on her tippy toes trying to dust the top of a shelf. She doesn't hear us come in; I walk up behind her and take the rag from her hand. I easily reach the shelf and she puts her hands on her hips with a grin.

"Thank you baby," she smiles at me as I hand her the rag back.

"Mhm," I say and put my hands into my pockets. She catches a glimpse of Tris, who is standing behind me. My mom gives me a strange look, as she looks the girl over. "This is Tris, the new galley cook," I motion to Tris.

"Nice to meet you," my mom sticks her hand out, Tris steps out from behind me and my mom takes a look at the black eye she has. Instantly my mom frowns and I know she understands how Tris feels.

"You too," Tris timidly shakes hands with her.

"I've got some frozen peas in the freezer, come on," she grabs Tris' hand and leads her into the kitchen. I follow the two of them and take a seat at the table. My mom sits Tris down across from me and gently puts the peas on her eye. Tris holds the bag in place and my mom takes a seat next to me.

"I told Tris that she can stay in the guest room until she gets on her feet," I look over at my mom.

"You can stay here for as long as you need," my mom gives Tris a reassuring smile.

"Thank you," Tris whispers and I can see tears form in her eyes.

"It'll all work out," my mom reaches across the table for her hand, "I promise."

"You're sure?"

"Of course I am. It worked out for me and Tobias. We'll make sure it works out for you too."

"That's my name by the way," I say as I widen my eyes and raise my eyebrows at her, she lets out a small laugh and I smile back at her.

"And I'm Evelyn."

We get Tris situated in the guest room as much as we can and my mom finds her a pair of sweats to change into as well as a t-shirt. By the time it's eight we're all sitting on the couch together, each of us holding a bowl of cereal in our hands. My mother has always been the kind of person that can eat cereal all day and every day. The Deadliest Catch is on tv and I instantly put it on, my mother rolls her eyes for a minute then gives me a smile.

"Sometimes I think I gave birth to a fish and not a human," my mom puts a large bite of cereal in her mouth.

"I'm not a fish, I just like to fish."

"You spend all day out on the water and then come home and watch a show about fishing."

"They're crab fishing, mother, it's different."

"They're still fishing, Tobias, so it's the same."

"It's not the same and you know it, you'd kill me if I tried to do what they do."

"If I didn't kill you for wanting to do it you'd probably end up dying out on one of those boats."

"Do you know how much money they make?"

"Not enough to risk your life during crabbing season."

"I think I'd puke if I was on a boat like that," Tris has her mouth open and is staring at the screen.

"I would throw up on everyone," my mom responds.

"You throw up when you come out on the SoCal," I give my mom a little shove.

"It's not my fault I never got my sea legs. Grandpa never took me out on the boat."

"That's cause grandma said fishing was for boys," I smirk.

"Good thing I had a boy then, cause Grandpa never got his own," she smiles at me and leans her head on my shoulder.

* * *

_Here is the next chapter. It's a little bit of a filler, but I've gotten a lot of writing done so there are some bigs things coming your guys' way. I finally figured out how I'm going to end this story and even though you guys haven't read it yet, do you guys think I should start on a sequel or not?_

_As always thank you for all of the lovely reviews._


	16. Adjusting

**TRIS**

After a day I already feel comfortable being in a house with Four and Evelyn. They seem to have a great relationship with each other, they tease each other but do small things for each other too.

I called my brother and finally talked to my mother about everything that happened. She wasn't happy to hear about Eric and told me that was her fear from the minute I left. Caleb wanted to fly here right away to help me get all of my things out of my old apartment.

Eric hasn't called or texted me at all, he doesn't seem to care at all if I'm okay or not. A part of me is hurt from it, but a larger part of me feels like I'm doing the right thing.

I jump into Four's truck and he gets into the driver's side with ease. We drive to my apartment in silence. A part of me is afraid that Eric will be home but I know he's supposed to be at work right now. Four parks the truck and we head to the place I once called my home. I pull out my key and let us inside, he follows me in and I go straight to my room. He helps me pack all of my stuff and we stay silent for the most part, excluding him asking if something is mine or not. By the time we have everything I realize that I came to California with nothing more than two suitcases of stuff.

I've never been the kind of person that needs a lot of stuff to manage, but I feel like I didn't pack enough. It's like I packed in such a hurry, all I wanted was to get away from Chicago. We leave with my stuff and I leave my key on the kitchen counter for Eric to find.

Four tosses my bags into the bed of his truck and as we leave I feel a heavy weight come off of my chest. I look into the mirror and smile as the apartment disappears from my view.

"You're officially rid of him, Bruiser."

"I am, huh?" I grin.

"From here on out, it's just you."

"Thank you."

"It's not a problem."

"No, thank you for everything. For giving me a place to stay while I find my own and for coming with me."

"You're welcome."

We drive back to his house in a comfortable silence. Once we get there I take my stuff to the guest room and start to get ready for work. Lynn is officially done working for the season, which means I won't be splitting any of my money anymore. The possibilities from here on out are endless. I have a job that I make enough money at that I can afford a place for myself.

Four and I leave for the boat around five. When we get into the parking lot he takes his boots out from the bed and slips them on as usual. Then he tosses me a pair of boots and I stare at them on the ground.

"What are these for?"

"Your feet."

"They're mine?"

"You needed to get some eventually and I'm sick of seeing those converse of yours. One of these nights you're going to eat shit."

"Thank you, Four."

"You're welcome, Tris."

Christina has the galley all clean and prepped for me by the time I walk inside. Tori already brought the groceries in and they're all put away. No one asks about the black eye I'm currently sporting and I'm grateful for it. There are only ten passengers on the boat, but Four says that as long as we have eight we're allowed to fish, so we leave the dock with our small crowd of regulars and head out to sea. All of the guys have eaten, but they each open up a tab for beers. My grill stays clean, but I find myself having to restock the cooler with Coors Light. Zeke anchors us to our first spot and I walk out on the deck.

"Look at chu, Brusier. Sporting some xtra tufs," Uriah says to me as he stands at the stern of the boat.

"Finally looking like a part of the crew," Zeke smiles at me.

"Decided that it was about time," I walk over to them.

"Wanna fish?" Uriah offers me a pole.

"No thanks, I just want to watch for a while."

"Your eye looks better than the other day."

"Yeah, it's not as ugly now."

"Just got to tell everyone that they should see the other guy."

"Unfortunately if they saw the other guy, they'd realize that I lost the fight."

"What happened, if you don't mind me asking."

"My ex boyfriend is a dick and likes to hit people."

"Glad to hear he's your ex."

"Me too. How's Marlene?" I wiggle my eyebrows at him, he lets out a light chuckle.

"She's good."

"Do you live at home?" I spit out and for an instant I'm uncomfortable with the fact that I just asked Uriah where he lives.

"Yeah, why?"

"Ever thought about moving out? I know we've only worked with each other for a little bit, but I'm going to start looking for places and I would like to have roommates."

"You know Christina just recently asked me the same question."

"She did?"

"Yeah, she's been looking to move out for a while now and after talking to her about it I think I want a place of my own too."

"Do you think she'd be willing to move in with me?"

"She'd be willing to move in with anyone, she just likes people."

"If you two want to start looking into places with me, I'd be pretty excited about it."

"We should all go meet up for dinner or something and talk about what we all want in a place. If we can figure out something I say we do it."

"Really?"

"Yeah, why not," he smiles at me before making his rounds again.

I look out onto the ocean for a while longer before deciding to head up to the wheelhouse. Seagulls circle the boat and make squaking noises as I head up the ladder. There is another boat anchored next to us and I can hear our passengers yelling at them every time one of them catches a fish. The door to the wheelhouse is open so I walk in and see Four sitting in the chair.

"How's your night going?" he asks me.

"I think it'll be a good night, my regulars are all on tonight."

"Sometimes I rather have a small group of regulars over a large group of strangers."

"I know what you mean."

"You doing okay?"

"Yeah, I feel like I'm going to figure everything out."

"You will."

"Uriah was saying that Christina had mentioned something about wanting to move out to him. So I'm going to meet up with them and have dinner or something, maybe they'll be willing to move in with me."

"That could be good," he smiles at me before getting up out of his chair and walking towards the open window. "Zeke! I've got more damn birds circling this boat then I know what to do with them. Make Mackerel get rid of them for me!"

"Ay ay, capin'."

"Thank you again." I say when he moves away from the window.

"It's really no problem, Tris. Sometimes all you need is someone to help you get on your feet."

I watch the deck below me and see Uriah walking around in circles. Continually shaking his fist and glaring up at the sky. Zeke stays just a few steps behind him and laughs. Four smirks as he watches the scene below us and I hear the radio go off.

"Four," the voice says and Four grabs the radio.

"Yeah?"

"Why the hell is your pinhead shaking his fist at me?"

"He's shaking his fist at the birds, Bud. Not you," Four laughs.

"You morons," Bud chuckles.

"Who's Bud?" I ask.

"The captain of the boat next to us, he's a good guy. Always willing to help out the new captains as long as they're willing to help him out when he can't find a good spot."

"Did you tell him that we were fishing here? Cause he anchored here after us."

"Yeah I did, he's got a small group of people fishing too and sometimes it's fun to give the guys more people to talk to. Even if they are yelling at each other from different boats."

"I don't think you're going to ever be able to get me off of this boat," I sigh in content as gleeful noises from the deck below us fill the wheelhouse.

"I know exactly how you feel."

**TOBIAS**

I dock the boat and head down into the galley where Tris is cleaning down the tables. There are fish scales all over the floor like every night and I grab the broom to sweep them out onto the deck. Zeke and Uriah are spraying down the deck and I can see them on the stern. Once I finish sweeping up I help Tris with wiping down the benches and as we're about to finish I hear Zeke talking to someone outside.

"Sorry, buddy. This is a private dock. We can't have people on it." I walk out of the galley and onto the deck, there is tall guy standing across from Zeke.

"I'm looking for someone," the guy says to Zeke.

"We're the only people out her. All of the passengers we had tonight have already left."

"I'm not looking for some person that was just out fishing. I'm looking for someone who works on a boat."

"Who're you looking for," I raise my voice so the stranger can hear me, keeping my back towards the open doors of the galley. I can hear Tris humming along to Lynn's cd as she goes through her money for the night.

"Beatrice Prior, she's a galley cook on one of the boats," he yells back to me, I hear Tris stop humming when she hears her name.

"Never heard of her," I say crossing my arms over my chest.

"Seriously?" the guy yells.

"Sorry, buddy, we don't have anyone working with us by that name," Zeke calmly says to him. "I can't have you on the dock, it's privately owned."

"Do you know of any other charter boats in the area?"

"There are some in the other Marina, it's about five minutes from here."

"Alright," the guy huffs and walks back towards the parking lot. I can feel Tris standing behind me. Once the guy is out of sight she steps out of the galley just enough to see out towards the parking lot.

"What an ass," Tris keeps her eyes focused on the almost empty parking lot.

"I'm guessing that's your ex," Zeke says walking back onto the deck.

"Yeah, Eric," she purses her lips together.

"Well let's hope he buys that you don't work on this boat," I turn to look at her.

"He might. I never told him the name, just that I was working on a boat. He was never too interested in it, so I didn't talk about it."

"Is he gullible?" Uriah asks.

"I hope he's gullible enough to think you guys were telling him the truth."

"You done cleaning?" my eyes glance over the galley.

"Yeah, I'm going to head to the truck."

She starts walking off of the boat and I toss her my keys before heading up the ladder to lock up everything. Once I have double checked everything I get off of the boat and onto the dock. My truck is parked close enough that I can see Tris is nowhere near it. I start walking to the bathrooms to see if she went there instead. She isn't near the bathrooms and I scan the parking lot again, this time I see two figures standing next to my truck. Tris has her arms crossed and her back is pressed up to the bed.

As I get closer to the truck I can hear her say, "You need to leave."

"Beatrice, you just took all of your stuff and left," Eric says softly to her.

"I took all of my stuff cause you hit me, I have a black eye because of you."

"I know and I'm sorry, I didn't mean it. It was the alcohol."

"Yeah it's the whiskey that punched me," she lets out a sarcastic laugh and rolls her eyes.

"I'm serious Beatrice, I'm trying to make things better between us and you're not even taking me seriously."

"There is nothing to fix, we're done."

"Don't you love me?"

"I thought I did but after thinking about it I realized that I loved the idea of you, not you."

"You're trying to hurt me," he glares down at her.

"I'm actually just being honest with you, Eric." She doesn't take her eyes off of him and she seems so much bigger than she is. They both look over at me when they hear my footsteps.

"Go away, dude," Eric spits at me.

"You're by my truck."

"Come on Beatrice," he goes to grab a hold of her hand and she tries to back up, but has nowhere else to go.

"She's not going anywhere with you," I step between the two of them.

"You don't get to decide what she does," Eric glares at me and then at Tris, who stands behind me.

"Neither do you. Tris, what do you want?" I keep my eyes on Eric.

"I'm not going with you Eric, I'm staying with him."

"You've got to be kidding me, Beatrice. I came to apologize and you aren't going to give me a chance."

"I'm not going anywhere with you, I took all of my stuff because I'm done with you," she steps out from behind me, her eyes focused on Eric. "So I suggest you leave and don't try to talk to me anymore."

"Beatrice, you've got to be kidding right now. I took you to California."

"Yeah you did and now I'm going to stay in California without you."

"Where are you going to live?"

"That's none of your business."

"You've got no where to go and if you end things like this I'm not going to let you come back to me, ever."

"You know, that's kind of what I was going for. You ended us when you hit me."

"It was an accident."

"Well that accident cost you our relationship."

"Beatrice."

"Leave, Eric." She steps closer to him, her posture straight and her hands are balled into fists.

"Screw you, Beatrice. I hope you get what you deserve and I don't regret anything. I'm not even sure why I tried to find you. You've always been a waste of my time."

"You should go," I pull Tris closer to me.

"Is he the reason you left me," Eric points at me.

"Are you trying to say I've been cheating on you?"

"He is isn't he?" Eric's voice gets louder.

"I've never cheated on you," Tris growls.

"You're lying!"

"And you wonder why I left you."

"Seriously Beatrice? After all I've done for you? You go off and find some other guy to fool around with?"

"You've got to go, buddy. And I suggest you don't come back to these docks," I try to keep them separated.

"And who's gonna stop me?"

"Me. I'm in charge of that boat and that dock unless the owner is here."

"You think you're some hot shot? You're the other guy."

"I've never done anything with, Tris, contrary to your belief. Tris, get in the truck. We're leaving."

"Her name is Beatrice."

"I know."

"This is bullshit!" Eric yells as he throws his hands up into the air. His eyes are filled with fire as he pushes Tris. She falls into me and I steady her, her eyes widen and before I can do anything her fist connects with Eric's jaw. Eric goes to swing back at her, but I step inbetween the two of them.

"Don't you dare touch her," I grab his arm, "I don't care if she hit you first. You pushed her."

"She can fight her own battles," his voice rumbles.

"I never said she couldn't, but I'm not going to let her fight you."

"If you won't let me fight her, I'll just fight you," he smirks as he throws a punch, I put an arm up to block it.

"You may easily beat a girl who's smaller than you, but if you're smart you're not going to try to hit me again. Cause if you do, I will hit you back."

He tenses up again before balling his fingers into a fist, before he can pull his arm back, my punch has already connected with his jaw. The same place Tris hit him. He falls onto the ground and grabs his face with a groan. I stand over him for a second before crossing my arms, "Don't come near my boat or any of my crew again, sound good?" Eric doesn't respond to me, he just stares up at me, fuming. Tris grabs onto my arm and pulls me to the open door of the truck. She hops into the driver's side and slides over to her seat. I climb in after her and shut the door behind me, I flex my fingers and a few crack in response.

"Are we just going to leave him there?" she looks over at me.

"He's a big boy, he can get himself home," I turn the truck on and we head back to my house.

* * *

_Oh my goodness, guys, I got SO many reviews on that last chapter. You guys are the best!_

_I hope you guys like this chapter. I made it extra long for you ;)_

_I'm almost done writing this story, isn't that crazy. It's still got quite a few chapters to go, but I'm almost done writing it. _


	17. Tea and Sushi

**TRIS**

I wake up in the middle of the night with an uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach. After tossing and turning for a while I get out of the bed and lightly walk to the kitchen.

For a minute I feel awkward in the house that isn't mine. A few pictures are up in the kitchen. In one is a smiling Four with a fish in his hand; he couldn't have been more than six when the picture was taken. Next to him is an older man with gray hair and the same blue eyes; I assume it's his grandfather.

My heart aches for the comfort of my own home back in Chicago. To the home that I shared with my small family. Caleb's room was close to mine and the two of us found ourselves in his room the majority of the time. We'd spend our time with our backs resting against his bed as we talked about our days.

I grab a glass from the cabinet and fill it with water. The cool liquid soothes my throat and I sit in a chair at the table. The only light in the room is from the moonlight coming through the large window near the table.

Never had I imagined that I'd be in California, without my family. I never planned on leaving them, it just happened. Eric just happened. He was the mysterious guy in the corner at a party, the guy who people knew of but didn't actually know. Somehow he took a liking to me, the bird like girl who had trouble with depression.

He was a breath of fresh air for so long, he was this little ray of light. But it didn't last long. It was gone as quick at it came and I spent too much time waiting for it to return.

I let out a sigh and I hear another pair of quiet footsteps in the house. The kitchen light flicks on and Evelyn pads in. She jumps a little when she realizes that I'm in the corner but quickly regains her composure.

"I didn't realize anyone else was awake," she says as she grabs a mug and places it under the Keurig.

"I couldn't sleep, too much going on I guess."

"It happens to everyone," she says and I can smell the hot tea brewing.

"I thought I'd be able to sleep easier after tonight."

"Want some tea? It's chamomile, it'll help you sleep." I nod to her and she grabs a second mug.

She places the hot tea in front of me and begins making herself one. The hot ceramic mug is a comforting feeling and I revel in it for a moment. She grabs her own tea and sits down at the table across from me.

"Thanks," I say as I sip the tea.

"Your eye looks a little better," she brings her mug to her lips.

"I'm ready for it to be gone."

"It will."

We stay quiet for what seems like forever and I feel a bit uncomfortable not having Four near me. I stare at the steaming liquid in front of me, keeping my eyes focused on the faint vapor rising from it.

"How come you're up?" she raises her eyes to meet mine for a moment.

"Just awake from tonight I guess."

"And what happened tonight?"

"Uh, my ex showed up to the boat."

"He did?" her eyes widen.

"Yeah, and it was a bit of a messy situation."

"Messy how?"

"He wanted me to go back to the apartment with him."

"What'd you tell him?"

"No, but he wasn't happy with that answer."

"Of course not. What'd he do?"

"Tried to force me to go with him. I hit him," I look down at my tea.

"You hit him?"

"Yeah, he pushed me."

"So it was self defense."

"Yeah."

"I'm surprised Tobias didn't do anything, did he see?"

"Uh."

"Did my kid hit your ex boyfriend?" she sighs.

"Knocked him on his ass," I bite my lip and Evelyn shakes her head.

"Of course he did, I wouldn't expect anything less from him."

"He only did it cause Eric tried to grab me."

"I know he wouldn't do it unless he was provoked, but once he's provoked it's inevitable."

"Eric tried to hit him first though."

"He only hit Eric once?"

"Yeah just once."

"I'm really surprised that it was only once. He's the kind of person that likes to make sure he won."

"Has he gotten into fights before?"

"It took a long time for him to get where he is and when he was a teenager he got into a lot of fights and once we moved to California he got worse before he got better. But you're all right after tonight?"

"Yeah I think I am. Thank you."

"You're welcome," she finishes her tea and gets up. "Try to keep my son out of trouble."

"I will," I smile at her as she leaves the kitchen.

After finishing off the remainder of my tea I tiptoe to the living room and sit down on the couch. I pull my knees to my chest as I crave the comfort of my own mother.

She's somewhere at home, most likely still sleeping. Curled up next to my father. Caleb will be sleeping in his room just down the hall. There are most likely trains in the distance and I feel my heart ache.

I wake up in the morning still curled up on the couch, but there is a blanket covering me and the tv is on. The couch dips down near my feet and I assume someone is sitting on the opposite end. Slowly I stretch and automatically hum to myself as I fully wake up. I realize it's Four sitting on the opposite side of the couch; he is reading some sort of paper. The flannel pajama pants graze the tips of his toes and the black tank top fits him snuggly. For the first time I notice the tattoos that peak out from the fabric. As I sit up I cover my mouth as I yawn.

"Morning," he says, eyes still focused on the paper in front of him.

"Good morning," I respond as I look at the clock that reads one in the afternoon. "Actually good afternoon, I guess."

"No, it's morning. I just got up like an hour ago."

"You slept for that long too?"

"Yeah, I didn't even hear my mom leave this morning. Which is rare, I'm not a very heavy sleeper."

"What're you reading?"

"Fish reports."

"And that is?"

"Pretty much tells me who caught what, it helps with figuring out what we're going to fish for tonight."

"Oh," I say as my stomach growls.

"Hungry?" he grins.

"Apparently."

"Good, cause I'm starving." He gets up from the couch and starts walking to his room, I can see more of the tattoos that cover his skin, "Go change."

"Change?"

"Yeah, we're going to go get food."

"Oh, okay then," I get up from the couch and fold up the blanket.

"Don't say I never did anything for you," he says as he stands outside his bedroom door.

"What?"

"I put a blanket on you when I was up earlier to answer the phone before I fell back asleep. So you can't say I never did anything nice for you."

"I'll never say that you haven't done anything nice for me," I roll my eyes and put the folded blanket back onto the couch.

I throw on a pair of worn out jeans and a black V-neck shirt before I put on some eyeliner and mascara. The minimal amount of makeup makes my features more striking and I feel like less of a twelve-year-old. A loud bang comes from the closed door and I scream at the noise. A deep chuckle comes from the other side of the door as I let out the breath I had apparently been holding in.

"Hurry up, Bruiser. I'm going to starve to death," Four says through the wood.

"I'm coming, I'm just putting my shoes on. And you are not going to starve."

"You don't know that, I think I'm dying."

"I'm ready," I say as I open up the door and see him with his arms crossed and glaring at me.

"My stomach is eating itself."

"Well then why are you just standing there? I thought you were hungry?" I push past him with a smirk and head outside to his truck.

Getting into the truck is simple now; I've managed to get it down to a science. Four drives down the roads that are familiar to him and parks in a spot right in front of a place called 39 Degrees.

"Ever had sushi?" he asks as he gets out.

"No," I hop out and follow behind him. He pulls the door open for me and I go inside.

"You either love it or hate it, there is no in-between."

"What if I hate it?"

"You're going to starve, cause this is what we're eating," he says as I follow him to the bar.

He pulls a stool for me and I'm taken back a bit. Eric was never much of a gentleman when it came to us going out.

"Let's hope I like it," I say as I look over the menu. "I honestly have no idea what any of this is."

"I'll order and you just eat it, deal?"

"Alright."

The sushi chef seems to recognize Four and I assume that he comes here often. He orders a few different rolls and it seems that they're placed in front of us in no time. I'm taken back by the amount of food sitting in front of us. There are different colored rolls and each contains something different in them. He pours soy sauce into two small dishes and places one in front of me as well as in front of himself. Only chopsticks sit in front of me and I realize that I have no idea how to use them.

"Do I just stab what I want to eat?"

"No," he laughs, "You hold the chopsticks. Like this." He grabs my hand and places the chopsticks in it.

"How to do I make them move?" I stare at the sticks sitting uncomfortably in my hand.

"You only move your pointer finger and it'll make the top stick move. The other one doesn't need to move at all."

"Okay," I say as I practice moving the sticks.

"See you got it," he grins, "Okay so this roll is a nine one one roll, its got spicy tuna. This one is a California roll, you really can't go wrong with it. Everyone usually likes it. That one is a sumo, it has shrimp tempura and tuna. The last one is a sexy girl, stupid name, but it's good. It has shrimp tempura, jalapeno and mango."

"So I'll just have a California roll to start with," I carefully grab it with the chopsticks and bring it to my mouth to take a bite.

"Nope," he shakes his head at me and I cock my head in confusion, "You can't eat sushi like that."

"What do you mean I can't eat it like that?"

"You don't take bites out of it."

"Why?"

"First, you dip it into the soy sauce, but only if it doesn't already have a sauce on it," he says as he picks up a California roll with his chopsticks, "Then you have to eat it in one bite."

"One bite?"

"Yup. That's the way it's done."

"What if I can't fit it all in my mouth?"

"Figure it out," he smirks as he places the roll in his mouth.

I squint my eyes at him as I slowly dip the roll into soy sauce, making sure not to let it slip out from my chopsticks. He watches me to make sure I eat the whole roll in one bite. I place the roll in my mouth and try to make my lips touch, but find that it's almost too much food for me to eat at once. Four gives me a smug look before letting out a laugh. I cover my mouth with my hand as I chew the roll, it's surprisingly good and I eventually am able to swallow.

"Get it all down?" he grabs a different roll.

"Yes," I say sticking my tongue out to show him my empty mouth.

"And?"

"That one was pretty good."

"Good, now eat this one," he points to a different roll that is bigger than the one I just ate.

"Seriously? I struggled with the last one and you want me to eat that whole thing in one bite.

"Don't be a girl."

"I am a girl."

"But you play with the boys, so act it," he gives me a playful shove.

* * *

_I have officially finished writing this story. It's all saved I just need to post the chapters for you guys. I'm not gonna tell you if there is going to be a sequel or not, you will find out when this story is finished._

_As always, thanks for all of the reviews. _


	18. Mayhem

**TOBIAS**

Tris has adjusted to living in our guest room well and I'm starting to dread the fact that in two weeks she will be moving to live with Uriah and Christina. It's comfortable having her in the house with us. She fits in well and I feel like my mother has taken a liking to her.

I sit on the couch absent-mindedly flipping through channels on the tv when Tris walks in. Her legs look long in the cut off shorts and her blonde hair is piled on top of her head in a bun. She falls onto the couch next to me and focuses on the screen in front of us.

The two of us stay silent as I put on Happy Gilmore. We watch the movie and don't exchange any words. Everything is easy with her; I don't feel like I need to entertain her, she can just be.

A part of me wonders if the attraction I have to her is something more than I think it is. She seems to fit in with the crew perfectly and has found herself in love with the water. I always said I'd never date a girl unless she loved the ocean as much as me, or at least understood my love of it.

But I'm not the dating type; I am more of a lone wolf. I'm content being by myself and I think I'm supposed to be alone. I enjoy the solitude of the wheelhouse.

"We have to leave soon," Tris says glancing over at me.

"No we don't we still have an hour."

"We do?"

"It's only four."

"Oh, it feels later."

"Why?"

"Everything seems to be in fast forward."

"What do you mean?"

"Too much has happened in the last two months. Chicago to California. Leaving Eric. Coming here. Leaving here in a couple of weeks."

"It's a lot."

"I just feel like everything has been hard since I left home. Nothing has come easily. But then again nothing ever seems to just come easily."

"No one ever said life is easy," I look over at her.

"Is life ever easy?"

"If you don't dwell on the bad stuff it can be easier."

"I'm waiting for things to be easy. To have that moment, where everything seems to fit and be smooth."

"Things are never going to be simple though. There will always be bumps, you just gotta keep moving forward."

"I feel like I take one step forward and two steps back most of the time. I've felt this way for years."

"Like you're constantly swimming against the current?"

"Exactly," she frowns.

"You know, only dead fish swim with the current. So as long as you're swimming against it, you're alive."

"You and fish," she grins.

"It's my life."

"Mine too as of this summer."

"You can learn a lot from fish."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah," I turn my body to look at her, "Why did you move to California?"

"To get some freedom. Figure myself out."

"Leave the parents behind and find out who you are? What you're like when they're not influencing you?"

"Something like that and honestly, Chicago has a lot of bad memories for me."

"Like?"

"I wasn't happy there. I was depressed and found myself losing my will to live. No one needed me and I just wanted to stop moving. Stop constantly swimming against the current. I found myself at some parties. Drinking till I couldn't remember anything. Make my body numb, so I could finally get away. But I ended up at a party where some guys thought it'd be fun to get in my pants. They didn't though, they just tried. Eric actually was the one who stopped them, my knight in shining armor," she rolls her eyes.

"Where did you find the will to live again?"

"The day I stepped foot on that boat of yours."

"Why?"

"Cause for the first time in my life I felt like I belonged somewhere. I found myself living. I was afraid but at the same time I had this adrenalin in me."

"You were afraid?"

"The ocean is a lot bigger than me and it can sink a boat if it wants."

"But salt water is a cure all."

"It's a bit magical," she smiles, "You know what left the biggest impression on me?"

"What?"

"The shark they pulled onto the boat. It's teeth sticking out everywhere, black eyes staring at numerous pairs of boots as it thrashed on the deck. Slowly suffocating but still fighting for it's life. Like it was trying to swim with no water. It terrified me but enthralled me at the same time."

"You were terrified of that shark?" I chuckle.

"I don't think it was the shark itself that scared me but the realization that it had more of a will to live then I did. A fish was more dauntless than me. A little guy that was a predator, a predator that fought for its life till the very end."

"You know sharks can't ever stop swimming. When they do, they sink."

"So they've got to move to stay afloat?"

"They do and they can never swim backwards, their fins won't let them."

"So they're constantly moving forward?"

"Always, they have no choice unless they want to sink."

"I'm going to be like a shark," her eyes meet mine with persistence and they're a bit wild.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm going to keep swimming against the current and I'm going to keep moving forward. I'm not ever going to let myself sink."

"Don't ever stop moving, Tris," I say.

"I'm just going to roll with the waves and focus on the good."

"There is a lot of good in the world, it's just hard to see sometimes."

Our conversation ends there and we both turn our focus to Adam Sandler again. I catch myself glimpsing at her. Her eyes are still mad looking and I've never seen something so breathtaking.

The small girl sitting next to me has taken me by surprise more than once since I first met her. Her converse covered feet walked onto the SoCal shakily the first night Lynn took her out. A small pup of a shark had scared her but fascinated her at the same time. She had the courage to leave Eric without a second thought. Something clicked in her and since the day I spent with her in the wheelhouse I've seen her change.

Maybe she hasn't changed; it's possible that I've just noticed her strength. She never came off as a fragile girl, but I hadn't realized how strong she actually is.

**TRIS**

Uriah sits across from me at the table and Christina is next to me. They both seem to be consumed with the magazine they're both looking at. An iced tea sits in front of me and I wait for them to point out some furniture to me.

We need to figure out what we're going to do with the house we're renting. It doesn't come with anything so we decided that we'll each furnish our own room and then buy some furniture that matches for the living room and kitchen.

We chose the house because of the large backyard it has. Christina told us that she just wanted to make sure we could have a dog. She hasn't had one since her bulldog was put down and she wants to have another one.

"I think we should just get some leather furniture," Uriah points to a couch and love seat in the magazine.

"I'm fine with leather," I say and Christina nods in agreement.

"Can you believe we're moving in next week?"

"Not really," Christina smiles.

"You both have what you need for your rooms?" Uriah questions and we nod.

""I was thinking we could buy a fire pit for the backyard and get some nice patio chairs," Christina says before sipping from her coffee.

"We have a big enough backyard," I shrug my shoulders.

"So I'll get those," she smiles.

"I can buy the couch," I offer.

"Then I'll pay for a chair or two," Uriah bobs his head.

"Oh my parents said that we can have their old table for the dining room," Christina blurts out in excitement.

"Really?" I ask.

"Yes, so we don't need to buy one of those."

"Perfect," I grin.

"I was going to ask you guys," she pauses, "Do you think we could go to the pound today? I'm seriously itching to get a dog and I think I may die if I have to wait another week to pick one out."

"Where are we going to put a dog for a week?" Uriah raises his eyebrow.

"Tris can watch it," she smiles.

"I can not watch it, I don't have anywhere to put it."

"Yes you do, Four has a nice backyard, I've seen it before."

"I'm not going to put a dog in a backyard of someone else's house."

"He won't even care, watch we'll just put it in the backyard and leave it for him to find," she smirks.

"No, Christina."

"Fine, we'll leave it at my house," she smiles, "So can we go get one?"

"Right now?" Uriah says keeping his eyes on the magazine on the table.

"Please," she whimpers.

"Fine," he says getting up and we follow him back to his car.

We walk into the shelter and my nose is bombarded with the smell of dog while my ears hear never ending barking. The three of us walk past all of the kennels, glancing at the dogs inside. None of them peak our interest, but we stop by each kennel to give the dog some attention.

Some of the dogs give us sad eyes as we pass them; others stay in the back of the kennel not wanting to accept any attention from anyone. Then there are the ones that jump and bark at every passing person. Uriah and Christina walk in front of me, they pass a kennel that has a dog with it's back to us.

I stop and crouch down, looking into the kennel. The large brown dog looks over at me for a minute before slowly getting up and padding over to me. He sits down in front of me, his two toned eyes staring at me. His ears are docked and there are a few scars on his body.

"Hey there, fella," I say to him and he cocks his head to the side.

"Tris," I hear Uriah say as him and Christina look back towards me.

"Come here," I say to them, keeping my eyes on the dog.

They come over to me and crouch next to me. The dog looks at both of them in greeting. His eyes bounce between us and we watch him. He doesn't bark like the other dogs, just watches us curiously.

"That's Mayhem," a female voice says from behind us.

"Mayhem?" Christina looks up to the girl.

"Yeah, not very fitting, considering he's about the calmest guy we've got in the shelter. Do you guys wanna see him?"

"Like take him out?" Uriah asks.

"Yeah," she smiles, "I've got to walk him anyways."

She steps inside of the kennel and Mayhem doesn't bum rush the door. He stays sitting as she slips a leash over his head. Once he's outside of the kennel he comes up to each of us and sniffs at our hands. We follow the girl to a dog run outside where she lets Mayhem off of the leash. He stretches before going to grab a toy.

"How old is he?" Uriah asks as the dog brings a tennis ball to him, dropping it in his hand.

"He's two," she pats his big blocky head, "Poor guy was a bait dog before he came here. That's why he's got all of the scars on him."

"He's so good though," Christina says as she watches him play fetch with Uriah.

"Yeah, he was never aggressive when we got him. That's probably why they made him a bait dog. No one has taken much interest in him though, he looks too scary."

"Overall, he's well behaved?" I ask.

"If I had room for him I'd adopt him myself."

"I think we should take him," Uriah crouches down as he scratches the dog's ears.

"I like him," Christina says, "What about you, Tris?"

"He seems pretty perfect to me."

"You wanna come live with us?" Uriah asks the dog and he lets out a gruff bark, "I think he wants to guys."

"You want him?" the girl asks us.

"Definitely," Christina smiles.

"I'll get you started on the paperwork."

"You're gonna come home with us, Mayhem," Uriah says putting his hands up, Mayhem places his paws on Uriah's hands.

"I think he just high-fived you," I giggle.

"High-five!" Uriah yells and Mayhem places his paws on his hands again.

I sit in the back seat with the newest addition to our trio. Mayhem has his head out of the car window, his tongue hanging out. His tail wags the whole drive back to Four's. I thank Uriah for picking me up and taking me back. Once I get out of the car Mayhem follows behind me.

"You've got to stay with us, buddy," Christina chuckles as she steps out of the car as well.

"I'll live with you next week," I pat the dog on the head.

He follows me to the front door and I let myself in. Mayhem stays behind me and I can hear Christina and Uriah coming in after me. Evelyn isn't home and Four is somewhere in the house. I can hear Mayhem's paws against the linoleum kitchen floor. Christina and Uriah follow me into the guest room where all of my stuff is. She plops down onto my bed and looks at the few boxes I have packed.

"Is that all of your stuff?"

"Yeah, I didn't bring much from Chicago. Just grabbed what I needed and left."

"We're going to have to take you shopping, Tris."

"Poor, Tris," Uriah smirks.

"Where did you come from, buddy?" I hear Four's voice.

"Mayhem," Uriah calls and the large dog finds his way to where we are, Four following him.

"Where did the dog come from?" Four points at the dog that comes over to me. Mayhem lies down and places his head in my lap.

"We adopted him," Christina smiles, "He's going to live at our house with us. He seems to have taken a liking to Tris though."

"I can see that," Four smiles down as Mayhem yawns, I rest my arm on the dog's shoulders.

"Do you mind having him here for the week until we leave?" Christina gives Four puppy dog eyes.

"I don't care," he says as he comes into the room and sits next to the dog, "He seems mellow."

"He's really mellow," Uriah says.

"So then it's settled, Mayhem will stay with you two while we get moved in and then we'll take him home," Christina smiles.

"Your mom won't mind?" I ask Four.

"No, she's fine with dogs. We just don't have one cause we don't have enough time for one."

"Alright," I grin at him and run my hand over the short brown fur of the pit-bull.

* * *

_Here is the next chapter loves :) _

_You are all awesome! I can't believe how many reviews this got yesterday! _

_I love hearing your thoughts on what's going on in the things you like and the things you dislike._


	19. Driving

**TOBIAS**

I roll out of bed at noon and walk through the quiet house. For a minute I wonder where Mayhem is, but when the front door opens I figure that Tris must've taken him for a walk. She walks into the house with the dog at her side, her cheeks are flushed from running and Mayhem's large tongue hangs out of his mouth.

I frown for a minute at the realization that she's only going to be here for another day. Her stuff is packed and ready to go, the house already has the furniture in it as well as a doghouse out back. I've helped Zeke and Uriah get things into the house, it's not too big but it's a good size for the three of them.

Tris gives me a smile as she unlatches Mayhem's collar. The dog walks over to me and licks my hand as he passes, headed to his water. She says, "Good morning," to me before heading towards the bathroom to shower.

I go outside with the dog and he brings me a tennis ball automatically. The only time he actually runs is when he's playing. After a few minutes of playing he comes and sits down on my feet. I didn't think I'd take such a liking to the beast of an animal that Tris picked out, but he's grown on me rather quickly.

"Hey, Tris," I say as she comes outside with wet hair.

"Hello, Four," she says.

"Ready for work tonight?"

"Aren't I always?"

"I guess you are."

"Thanks for all the help this week."

"It's no problem."

"You've done a lot of driving back and forth for me."

"You can't exactly do it yourself."

"Yeah," she laughs, "I should probably get myself a license."

"Come on," I say going back inside.

She follows me and I grab the keys to my truck. We go out front and Mayhem walks to the bed automatically. I let down the tailgate and he jumps up into it. Tris gets into the passenger side of the door and I drive us to a mostly empty parking lot. Once I park she looks at me confused.

"Switch seats with me."

"What?" she leans a bit towards the window on her right.

"You heard me," I say in the voice I use when I was a deckhand training a pinhead.

"The instructor voice?" she whines.

"Switch seats with me," I chuckle.

We both get out of the truck and walk around to the opposite seats. She looks uncomfortable in the driver's seat. After a few seconds she adjusts the seat so that she can reach the gas and brake.

"Don't forget your mirrors," I state. She nods and fixes the mirrors so she can see everything.

I can see Mayhem sitting in the bed, waiting for the truck to move. Tris turns the key in the ignition and my truck rumbles to life.

"Take it slow, you've got to find the sweet spot so you're not jerking the truck forward every time you hit the gas."

"Okay," she says, her eyes focused in front of her.

"Don't just stare in front of you. You want to make sure to check your mirrors every once in a while. Make sure you know what's going on around you."

"So pay attention to what's in front of me as well as what's around me."

"Exactly, so put it in drive," I lean back in my seat and dramatically put on my seat belt, giving her a smug look.

"I'm not going to kill you," she rolls her eyes.

"I can't be sure, you've never driven before. And if you hurt my truck, you're dead to me."

"Will you go to my funeral at least?"

"You want me to go to your funeral after you break my truck? That's cute… I'll only go if there's cake. Now put her in drive."

Tris puts the truck in drive and the it slowly goes forward. She eases her foot onto the gas and we mosy around the parking lot. I don't give her much instruction, she seems to have the hang of going around in the parking lot. As she gets more comfortable she begins to speed up. The cab of the truck stays silent as she pays attention to her surroundings. I can see Mayhem's head in my mirror, his long tongue leaving drool all over my bed.

"Not too hard, huh, Bruiser?"

"I'm sure it's different when there are other cars on the road."

"As long as you're paying attention to your surroundings, it's not hard. You've got to be aggressive but defensive at the same time."

"You know, you're a pretty good teacher," she smiles.

"You think so?" I ask as I turn on the stereo. I flip through the stations till I hear The Joker come on, slowly I turn the volume up till Tris glares at me.

"Seriously?" she almost yells.

"You're not always gonna drive in silence. You've got to get used to distractions."

"I'm not going to have music on this loud," she huffs.

"Cause I'm a picker. I'm a grinner. I'm a lover. And I'm a sinner." I sing along to the music.

"You should go out for American Idol," she sarcastically says.

"Playin' my music in the sun. I'm a joker. I'm a smoker. I'm a midnight toker. I get my lovin' on the run," I raise my off key voice and unbuckle my seatbelt.

"I'm serious, next rock star," she smirks.

"You're the cutest thing that I ever did see," I lean over towards her. She keeps her eyes on the road so I bring my face closer to hers, but she avoids my eye contact, "Lovey dovey, lovey dovey, lovey dovey all the time."

"You're an idiot," she shoves me away from her.

I laugh a little before sitting back into my seat, she still wears a smirk and keeps her eyes away from me. After a few seconds I realize that my heart is beating a little quicker after being so close to her. A part of me feels like Tris isn't the kind of girl to admit she enjoys someone's company, she'll just call you stupid and smile. She isn't the kind of person to hug someone and say I love you, she pushes you and calls you names.

Over the last few weeks I've grown accustom to her quirks and I've finally admitted to myself that I am attracted to her. Her big blue eyes glance in her mirror and she smiles when she sees the dopey dog in the bed. I turn away from her and go back into training mode.

"Let's see how well you parallel park, Bruiser."

"You want me to parallel this monster?"

"It's easy, I promise."

She drives through the parking lot till I find a spot where my truck will fit. Once she spots where I'm going to have her park she stops in front of it and starts trying to get in the spot. I let her go back and forth for a few minutes until I can tell she's getting frustrated.

"What you're doing is completely wrong."

"How do I do it?"

"You want to pull the truck up next to the car that you're going to park behind," she does as she's told and looks at me expectantly, "Now you're going to reverse and crank the wheel the minute you're not going to hit that car. If you tap the curb with the rear tire that's fine just pull forward and adjust it as needed."

I look into the mirrors as she slowly maneuvers the truck. She almost holds her breath as she starts getting into the spot. It only takes a few moments for her to have it parked and she turns off the truck once she's finished. Her breath comes out that she was holding and a large grin spreads out on her face. I smile when her eyes look at me with pride.

"You did it like a professional, Bruiser," I smile at her.

"Could go get my license now if I wanted."

"You need a permit first."

"I actually have one."

"You do?"

"Yeah, Eric had me get one."

"Then you actually could get a license right now if you wanted."

"Can we go get it before work?" her doe eyes are full of excitement.

"We've got time to kill," I shrug. She unbuckles her seatbelt and crawls over to my side, I slide over back into the driver's seat.

"What about Mayhem?"

"He's got a leash in here, I think it's under your seat."

"It is," she grins pulling out the leash, "So lets go."

"Alright, alright. Stop being so bossy," I smirk and turn the truck back on.

* * *

_I know this chapter is shorter than the other ones have been, but if it gets some reviews today I'll try to post the next chapter tonight. As always thank you for all of the lovely reviews, you guys are awesome. _


	20. Dayshift

_OH MY GOODNESS, seriously guys, this chapter just got so many reviews it's ridiculous! So here is the next chapter, it's longer than the last one. _

_There is about seven or so chapters left for this story. _

_I haven't decided if I'm just going to make a part two for this story that is going to be all from Tris' point of view then make a sequel or if I'll just write a sequel. Any thoughts on it?_

* * *

**TRIS**

Christina's alarm clock wakes me up at the crack of dawn. I roll over in my bed and bump into Mayhem, who is sprawled out next to me. I shove him to the side and he gives me a sleepy growl, "Don't be rude, bed hog," I mumble. He scoots over about an inch and I pull my covers up over my shoulder. Christina was the one who wanted a dog and some how he ended up choosing me as his person.

"Tris," Christina groans.

"Yeah," I keep my eyes shut.

"Would you mind working my shift? I have the worst migraine right now. I'll make it up to you and work your night shift tomorrow since today is your day off."

"Yeah, that's fine," I yawn and sit up in my bed.

"Thank you," she mumbles.

"What time do I need to be on the boat?"

"They leave at six thirty so you need to be there an hour before."

"Okay," I rub my eyes and see that the clock says five.

I braid my long blonde hair so that it falls over my right shoulder and place a hat on top of my head. After lining my eyes in black and putting on mascara I change into a pair of shorts and a sweatshirt. Even though it's cool at the moment I know I'll melt on the water if I'm in jeans at noon. I slip on my deck boots before realizing that I have no way to get to work.

"My keys are in the kitchen on the counter," Christina's voice comes from her room.

"You sure you don't mind if I drive your car?"

"Positive."

"Thanks, Christina."

"No, thank you. Have a good shift."

"Get rid of that migraine," I leave.

The sun has started to rise as I pull into the parking lot. There aren't many people here yet and I soak in the solitude. A small Toyota pulls up next to me and Tori gives me a smile before she hops out.

"No Christina today?" she asks as she goes to the bed of the truck to get out the supplies needed for the galley.

"She had a migraine, so I'm switching shifts with her."

"Well that's nice of you," she hands me a few loaves of bread.

"Are you going to come by our house tonight?"

"The boats not running tonight?"

"It's Monday. Twilight doesn't go out on Mondays and Tuesdays."

"The days just seem to bleed into each other lately," she grins, "What time?"

"Uriah said he wanted to do it at seven, have a late dinner."

"House warming party, right?"

"Yes ma'am. We finally have everything settled in."

"It only took you guys about a week."

"Christina made sure we had everything unpacked in record time."

"Sounds like Christina."

We walk down the dock towards the boat, our hands full of supplies. Will helps us put everything away since the boat is already clean and ready for today. While we set up I can see people lining up waiting to load onto the boat. There are more families on the day trips. Four walks into the galley rubbing his eyes and yawning.

"Forgot how early the morning shift starts?" Tori smirks at him.

"I work nights for a reason," he mumbles.

"At least Harrison comes back this afternoon. Last morning shift you have."

"I'll die if I have another one."

"You're so dramatic."

"Bruiser, what are you doing here?" he gives me a strange look.

"Christina woke up with a migraine, so I'm taking this shift for her and I think she's going to pull a double on Wednesday."

"Oh, alright."

"You better not be boring tonight just cause you have to captain today," Will says from one of the benches.

"What's tonight?"

"House warming party," Tori reminds him.

"That's tonight?"

"You make him pull a few doubles and he can't remember anything," Tori chuckles.

"You come pull a bunch of doubles."

"I've paid my dues honey, I'm just in charge of your galley now."

"Yeah, yeah. I'll just sleep in the wheelhouse once we're anchored and then I'll be fine tonight."

"He's gonna get one drink in him and fall asleep," Will grins.

"Clean my boat."

"It's clean."

"Get out of my galley."

"Don't be mean just because I'm right, Four," he pats Four on the back as he exits the galley.

The grill keeps the galley warm and I realize that breakfast is fairly busy. One woman comes in with her son in tow. He only seems to be about two years old and she doesn't pay much attention to him. She orders and leaves her husbands name and number for the tab.

My legs are finally used to the rocking of the water and I don't fall all over myself anymore. I hear the anchor being let down and wait for the boat to swing into its spot. Once we're all set up everyone starts going to put their poles in the water.

"Hey, can you help me out?" Will comes into the galley for a second to grab his pliers.

"What do you need?"

"Are you still busy in here?"

"Not really."

"Can you chum for me?"

"I've never done it before."

"It's easy, I'll tell you where to throw and you'll be fine."

"Alright," I say and follow him out onto the deck.

He has me stand in-between the two bait tanks on the stern and he hands me a net. I need to get a few anchovies in the net at a time and toss them into the water to bring the bass under the boat. Will explains what way the current is right now so I have to throw the anchovies up towards the bow so they'll end up near the stern. I start chumming and soon realize that the anchovies will squirm out of my hand if I let them. My hands become dotted with silver scales as I continue to chum.

The passengers on the boat start to catch bass and they start getting louder with each catch. On the starboard side I can see the mother that ordered from me earlier, she has her son up on the railing of the boat as she fishes. Four comes down the ladder and walks over to me.

"He's got you chumming?"

"He doesn't have a pinhead."

"You're doing something right cause people are catching fish."

"It's cause I'm chumming."

"Sure it is," he grins at me before taking a look around the boat. "Seriously?" he grumbles.

"What?"

"She's got her kid on the railing, all it takes is one good swell for him to fall in," he says as he walks over to the woman.

He says something to her and she grabs her son, putting him down on the deck. Four thanks her before coming back over to where I am. My legs move with the water as I continue to throw anchovies into the ocean. One of my throws doesn't go far enough and the fish hits one of the lights we use for twilights.

"You know it helps if you get the fish in the water," Four gives me a smug look.

"That's the first one that hasn't made it into the water."

"Sure it is," he says as he picks up the fish and tosses it overboard.

Four motions to the net I'm holding and I bring it over to him. He grabs an anchovy and puts his hand at his side. Will walks by us and continues on the port side, making his rounds. Once his back is to us Four hurls the fish at Will and hits him in the back of the head.

"Bruiser! You're supposed to get the fish in the water, not hit my deckhand," Four turns to me quickly and gives me a shit-eating grin; I feel my cheeks warm up.

"Tris!" Will glares at me quickly.

"I didn't do it!"

"You're the one chumming."

"He took an anchovy from me, I swear," I say as I point at Four.

"I'll get you back Captain, you just wait," Will squints his eyes at Four before continuing around the boat.

"Way to throw me under the bus," Four furrows his brows at me.

"You told him I threw a fish at him."

"But you did," he grins before heading back up to the top deck.

Once Four is upstairs and in the wheelhouse I see the woman he talked to earlier look around. She doesn't see anyone and puts her son up on the railing again. I huff in annoyance as I continue to chum. I hear a guy yell, "Biter!" and Will runs over to him on the port side. The man fights the fish and Will cheers him on. Will runs to get a gaph to pull the fish onto the deck. I look out at the horizon and see a few large swells headed our way. Automatically I look over to the woman with her little boy, she isn't paying attention to the water at all. The boat rolls with the swell and starts to rock with the next one and then little boy splashes into the water. His mother screams in distress and I see Four poke his head out of one of the windows to see what's going on.

"Shit," I hear Four yell as I jump off of the bait tank and run towards the life ring that hangs outside of the galley.

Will has the one man's fish on the deck and he runs over to the woman who is now in hysterics. I run towards the side of the boat and see that the little boy is quickly sinking.

"He can't swim," his mother cries and Will automatically starts taking off his deck boots.

Before will can even get his second boot off there is another splashing noise and I look over the railing of the boat as Four pop out of the water with the little boy in his arm. The mother tries to reach for her as Four fights the current while keeping the kid up. The boat is too high up to just pull the little boy up onto the deck. Four almost goes under the water again with another swell, so he holds the kid up higher.

"Get to the port side," Will says to him and Four begins swimming towards the opposite side of the boat.

I run across the deck with Will, we get to the gate of the boat and Will opens it up. The passengers that were fishing on this side stay away from the open gate. Four comes around the boat slowly but surely, trying to stay close to the boat as the current threatens to pull him from it. He gets to the gate and I crouch down on the deck to grab the crying child from him. I pull the wet boy out of the water and stand back up with him pressed against my chest. Will puts his hand out for Four and helps pull him up onto the deck.

The mother of the boy runs to me and takes him out of my arms. Four leans against the railing of the boat trying to catch his breath as water drips from him. Will shuts the gate of the boat again and everyone seems to be silent except the crying mother and son. Once he has normal breathing Four gets up from his spot and walks over to the mom.

"I told you not to put him on the railing," he growls.

"I didn't know," she sobs, hugging her son.

"I did. So you leave him in my fucking galley the rest of the trip," his eyes burn into hers, "I don't want to see him out on my deck at all."

She nods and he huffs out a breath that he was holding before going back up to the wheelhouse. I go into the galley to wash the scales off of my hands and I can hear her bring her distraught son inside. He is dripping wet and tears pour down his cheeks, I go down under the deck and find a blanket for her to wrap him in. Once they're settled in I go back out on the deck and a few of the passengers are commenting on how quickly our crew reacted.

"Go talk to him," Will says to me.

"I'm not going to talk to him, you do it."

"No way, he's pissed."

"That's why I'm not going up there."

"Do you know how long it took him to jump out of the wheelhouse when he started working on the boat? He refused to do it, he's terrified of heights."

"No one was in a life of death situation though."

"He hasn't jumped from there since the first time he did it. Sometimes we'll go swimming for fun, but he never does."

"People can push aside their fear when they need to," I shrug, "I've never seen him so pissed off."

"He's got a temper, he just usually hides it. And he's probably going to obsess over the situation now."

"Why?"

"A little boy could've died on his watch."

"But he dove in after him."

"I can bet you he feels like he didn't jump in quick enough. Four has an obsessive personality, he thinks things should go a certain way and when they don't he will go through it in his head over and over."

I make a few lunch orders before grabbing a water bottle and heading up to the wheelhouse. The door is shut and I assume it's because he's mad. I knock on the door and he opens it for me. He stands in front of me with his soaking wet jeans, barefoot, shirtless, a Cubs hat on and a pair of sunglasses. I make sure not to pay attention to the fact that my boss is shirtless and standing in front of me. Even while I lived with him I never saw him without at least a tank top on. I could always tell that he had definition to his body, but I never realized how much muscle he actually has.

"I got you a water," I stick out my hand and keep my eyes from staring at him.

"Thanks," he grabs the water from me but I can't read his expression because of the aviator sunglasses he's wearing.

"Do you want anything to eat?"

"No, I'm fine. Is the kid in the galley?"

"Yeah, he's in there. I found a blanket down below to wrap him in."

"Good," he says before turning around and heading back to the monitors.

I stare at the black ink that covers his back. There is more ink than skin and for the first time I realize how many tattoos cover his body. I knew he had some cause they would peak out from his clothing, but I didn't know he had so many. There are different symbols that go down his back and I wonder what they stand for. He keeps his focus on the water and monitors in front of him.

"Let me know if you need anything," I say before heading back to the galley.

"Okay," he says.


	21. Kickback

_Since you guys are my favorites I decided that I'd give you a third chapter today. Here is a little SoCal crew fun. Fourtris will happen, I promise. I just hate when things are rushed._

_So I'm thinking that I'm going to make a part two of this story and then if you guys are dying for a sequel I'll make it happen._

_Thank you for all the reviews today, you guys are seriously awesome._

* * *

**TOBIAS**

I park my truck in front of the house and head towards the backyard, knowing that everyone will be back there. The sun is just setting and there is already a fire pit going. Mayhem comes up to greet me with a lick on my hand and I pat him on the head. Uriah stands at the grill with Zeke on his side, Lynn is in a chair next to Marlene. Shauna sits in her wheelchair next to Lynn, her eyes focused on the fire in front of her. Mayhem goes over to her and places his head on her lap; she smiles at the dog before resting her hand on his head. Will comes out of the house with Christina and the two of them carry out plates to Uriah and Zeke.

"Drinks?" Tris asks as she comes out of the house, two bottles of Captain Morgan in her hands. Her hair is piled into a bun on the top of her head and she is wearing the same cut off shorts she had on this morning. A tight fitted tank top shows black ink on her collarbone.

"Over here, sweetheart," Zeke says to her.

"Hey," Shauna smiles at me when she sees me.

"How're you?" I ask as I go over to her.

"I've been better," she frowns, "Therapy is a bitch."

"It'll get better," I say as I sit in the chair next to her.

"Do you only have Captain?" Marlene asks from her seat.

"Well I only have Captain in my hands," Tris smiles.

"Got any beer?"

"Yeah, I'll grab you one," Tris says as she places the liquor on a table near different cokes and ice.

She returns quickly with a cooler and places it next to the table. Marlene gets up and goes to grab a corona before heading back over. Tori comes soon after me, right as Uriah stars taking burgers off of the grill. We all go grab plates of food before sitting around the fire together. Mayhem stays at Tris' feet and when he knocks over her beer he laps it up.

"Alcoholic," Tris frowns at the dog as she gets up to get another drink, "Anyone else want anything?"

"Can I get a Captain and coke?" Christina asks, as she's perched on Will's lap, his arm lazily draped over her waist.

"The way you make it?" Tris raises an eyebrow.

"Of course," Christina grins.

Tris comes back with two red cups, each filled with Captain and coke. She sits back down and Mayhem looks up at her expectantly, she pushes the dog's face away from her cup and he lies down again.

"Drunk dog always wants my booze," she glares at her pet.

"He's knocked my beer over before just to drink it," Uriah states.

"He takes after Christina," Tris smirks at her.

"Shut up," Christina says before sticking her tongue out at both of them.

The night progresses and we all start to drink more than we had originally expected. Our voices have gotten louder and a few of us have begun to slur our words. Tris' cheeks are pink from the alcohol and she sits with her legs crossed under her to keep warm. Zeke whispers to Shauna and the two remain in their own little conversation. Christina has stayed on Will's lap and the two flirt back and forth. Tori is in a deep conversation with Uriah and Tris, something about how they need to make sure they have good careers in the future. Marlene and Lynn are off in the yard with Mayhem, throwing him a tennis ball.

I go and fill my cup with more Captain and a splash of coke. The alcohol has made my body warm and my eyes seem to be somewhat delayed as I look around. Uriah gets up and heads into the garage to grab something, he emerges with a white table and some Ping-Pong balls. Zeke jumps up to find red cups and sets them up on the table. Soon there is a game of beer pong set up. Uriah and Zeke are partners as always and they try to find opponents.

"I'll play," Tris says as she gets up from her seat.

"Who's gonna be your partner, sweetheart," Zeke asks.

"Who wants to be my partner," she asks the group.

"I'll be your partner," I say.

"Are you good at beer pong?"

"When we were in high school we were undefeated," Zeke smirks.

"Perfect, you can be my partner Four," she smiles at me.

We stand across from the brothers, our cups full of beer. Tris makes the first shot, her ball going into a cup with ease. I shoot after her and make the cup next to hers. Zeke groans and Uriah starts to put his hands in front of the cups trying to distract us. Uriah goes to make a shot and right before he does Tris leans over the table, showing him her cleavage. He misses the shot and she gives him a devilish grin.

"My eyes are up here, Uri," she smirks.

"That's cheating."

"That wasn't cheating at all, I was simply distracting you."

"Cheater," Uriah points at her.

"I didn't make you look at them."

"You practically did."

"You chose to look at them," she smiles and makes another perfect shot, "Am I on fire? Cause I believe that I'm on fire."

Tris makes another shot and we're soon down to one cup. Zeke and Uriah try everything in their ability to distract us, but Tris makes the last cup like nothing.

"In your face losers," she yells before giving me a high five.

"Rematch," Uriah says as he starts setting up his cups again.

"You're that desperate to lose again already?" Tris raises an eyebrow.

"You're going down Prior."

"You wish."

We start the second game and I realize that I'm not going to be able to drive home tonight. My body sways as I stand and my words have started to run into each other. Everyone seems to be at the same point as me, we laugh at everything. This game is closer than the last one and Tris goes to give Zeke a full look at her chest like she did to Uriah.

"Sorry, sweetheart. That's not gonna work," Zeke smiles. "I've got a pretty little thing over there," he motions to Shauna as he sinks his shot.

Uriah starts to take his shot and Tris yells, "Is that a hickey?" Uriah misses the shot and covers his neck.

"You have a hickey?" Zeke grabs his brother's hand to see the mark on his neck.

"It is a hickey!" Tris jumps up, "Marlene is that your handy work."

"Maybe," Marlene blushes.

"Why'd you give him a hickey on the neck?" Zeke asks as he pokes at Uriah's neck.

"Cause I didn't wanna give him one on his nose," Marlene giggles, causing a few of the other girls to giggle.

"You two aren't very discreet," Zeke grins.

"Who says we were trying to be discreet," Marlene smirks.

"How do you even give a hickey?" Tris drunkenly asks.

"Want me to show you?" Marlene takes a step towards Tris and Christina steps forward with her.

"We can teach you," Christina grins as she goes to grab Tris.

"Not on me," she squeals.

"Oh come on, let us show you," Marlene laughs and takes a step towards Tris, who starts to run away.

Christina runs after Tris and tackles her onto the grass in a fit of laugher. Mayhem runs over to them and barks excitedly at the scene. Tris tries to get Christina off of her, but she can't catch her breath through her laughter.

"I'm just kidding, I don't want to suck on your neck," Christina rolls off of her and helps her up off of the grass.

Tris returns to my side to finish our game and I realize that she is shivering. She tries to hide that she's cold but her teeth begin to chatter. I place my arm over her shoulders and pull her into me. At first she stays still, but then she wraps her arm around my waist. We finish the game with our arms wrapped around each other and I feel dizzy from the alcohol.

One by one people start to go inside to crash wherever there is room to sleep. Tris and I are the last ones awake, our feet can't seem to keep us in a straight line and she laughs hysterically when she trips over Mayhem. She tosses the empty beer cans into the trash can and I try to put the table away, but I can't figure out how to put it down. After a few minutes of trying I give up and fall onto the grass. Tris sits next to me and lays back onto the grass, we stare up at the sky together.

I'm hyper aware of how close our bodies are and I want to lean over and kiss her, but the one sober part of me reminds me that she just got out of an abusive relationship. I hear soft snores coming from her and turn over to see her completely asleep. Slowly I get up from my spot and focus on keeping my balance. Easily I pick her up and I pay extra attention to where I'm stepping making sure not to drop her. I eventually get her into her bed and she wakes up for a second.

"How'd I get here," she mumbles.

"I carried you here," I whisper back to her, sleep starting to overtake my body.

"Where're you gonna sleep?" she slurs.

"I don't know."

"Stay here," she yawns.

"You sure?" I blink as the room spins.

"Uh huh."

I get in the other side of her bed and feel Mayhem hop on and curl up by our feet. The dog falls asleep just as quickly as she does. I look over at her as she sleeps. Her big blue eyes closed and her long lashes resting on her still pink cheeks. She mumbles something in her sleep and I take a look at the ink on her collarbone, the tattoo is starting to peel a little, which means it's fairly new.

"Good night, Tris," I take one more look at her before turning over in the bed and falling asleep.


	22. Morning After

**TRIS**

I feel the warm California sun coming through my bedroom window and I stretch to wake myself up, humming as I do. As I stretch I feel something next to me, assuming it's Mayhem, I turn and see a tattooed back instead of my brown dog. The sight surprises me and I fall off of my bed. My butt hits the floor with a thud and I see my dog come off of my bed leisurely. He stretches before greeting me with a good morning kiss.

Four is sleeping in my bed, which means he most likely slept there all night. My stomach feels sick as I try to recall what happened last night. Everything is fuzzy and I can't remember him getting into my bed with me. My clothes are all on so I can assume we didn't do anything, but a part of me wonders if I did. I touch my lip, wondering if I kissed him last night. I lay back on the floor and close my eyes, calming myself down.

I hope that I didn't do anything with him last night. I don't want him to think there is something between us. I'm not ready for anything right now; I'm still hurt from Eric. A part of me still misses Eric, even though I'm better off without him. I can't allow myself to get involved with my boss, even if he is only a couple years older than me. It's unprofessional and I can't bring myself to start anything with anyone.

It's not that I don't like Four, I mean he's a good friend. He's never been anything but nice to me. Sure I wasn't sure about him the first time I met him, but he's grown on me. I like where we are right now.

Slowly I get up from the floor and crawl onto the bed. Four is sound asleep, but I need to know if we did anything last night. And if we did I need to clear everything up. I gently shake his shoulder, but he remains sleeping.

"Four," I whisper and still get no response. I repeat, "Four," a little louder and he doesn't move. I huff out a breath and shake him more, but he doesn't budge. He could sleep through an earthquake. "Tobias," I say at a normal volume and he begins to stir. "Tobias, wake up."

He groans and stretches his arms above his head. His blue eyes blink open and he furrows his brow a little after he focuses on me. My stomach falls to my toes as I prepare to ask him what happened last night.

"Tris?" his voice is thick with sleep and it makes me hold my breath.

"Good morning."

"Morning," he rubs his eyes.

"Um, you're in my bed," I say and he looks around, confirming my statement.

"Yeah," he says.

"Did we… did we do anything?" I almost whisper and his eyes widen.

"No, no, no. Tris we didn't do anything last night."

"You're sure?"

"I'm positive."

"You remember last night?"

"I remember enough to know that we didn't do anything."

"We didn't even kiss, right?"

"I promise we didn't," he gives me a small smile.

"Okay," I sigh in relief and he looks at me curiously. "You're my boss and I'm still messed up from Eric and I can't. I can't do anything like that. I mean you're my friend. You're probably one of the best friends I've ever had and I don't want to screw that up over one drunken night," I spit out and cover my face with my hands in embarrassment.

"You didn't screw anything up, Tris. We're still friends and we didn't do anything last night."

"We're fine?" I peek out from my hands.

"Yes," he chuckles.

"Okay, good. I'm glad drunken Tris didn't do anything stupid."

"I wouldn't do anything to jeopardize our friendship," he grabs both of my hands with just one of his own and pulls them down so he can see my face, "And I sure as hell wouldn't kiss you for the first time if we're both drunk."

"What?" I bite my lip.

"Take that however you want to," he smiles at me and sits up in the bed.

"What do you mean I can take that however I want?"

"You figure it out," he yawns and looks over at my collarbone. "When did you go and get that?" he points to the tattoo.

"Uriah needed to get his touched up and I decided that I wanted it."

"Why three of them?"

"For my family. I want to keep them close to my heart even though they're not here."

"It looks good," he says as his fingers brush over the peeling skin.

"Thanks," I blush a little bit, "Why so many tattoos on your back?"

"I started getting them when I was sixteen."

"What do they mean?"

"They each mean something different," he says as he turns around so I can look at his back.

"This one?" I ask as I touch the top circular symbol that has flames in it.

"Bravery."

"The next one," I tap the circle that has two hands in it.

"Selflessness."

"Third."

"Honesty."

"Fourth."

"Knowledge."

"The last one?"

"Harmony."

"This one?" I place my finger on his side and he looks down at the black flames.

"Bravery, again."

"Why twice?"

"Cause a few seconds of pure courage or bravery can completely change your life," he turns back around towards me.

"How so?" I cock my head to the left and stare at his dark blue eyes, they're peculiarly dark, almost black, but in his left eye near the corner is a speck of light blue.

"Don't stare at me like that," he whispers and blinks his eyes.

"Why?" I try to figure him out, I know him but don't actually know him.

"Cause you make me want to do this," he says and places a quick kiss on my cheek before getting off of my bed and going to leave the room.

"Wait," I say and he turns around to look at me. His naturally downturned lips in a slight smirk.

"What?" he crosses his arms over his chest.

"Why're you leaving?"

"Because I think I should."

"Tobias," the name feels foreign on my tongue, "What did you mean when you said you would never kiss me when we were both drunk?"

"I meant exactly what I said, that I would never want our first kiss to be when either of us are drunk," he smiles.

"You know I don't want a relationship right now, I'm not ready for anything."

"I know."

"You're fine with that?"

"For now," he grins.

"Okay, Four," I smile at him and bite my lip.

"Don't do that," he gives me a coy smirk.

"Why not, Four?" I flirt back and am surprised at how natural it feels.

"You know why."

"I do?"

"Yes you do, Beatrice."

"Hey," I scrunch my nose at the sound of my name.

"What?"

"That sounds weird."

"It sounds weird when you call me, Tobias."

"Not as weird as when you say Beatrice."

"I was just trying it out."

"Only use it on occasions."

"Okay, Tris."

"Okay, Four."

"You know, I think I like it better when you say Tobias."

"Why?"

"Just do," he says before he leaves my room.

**TOBIAS**

I sit next to Zeke on the couch who is watching music videos on the tv. He sits on the couch with a bottle of water and a bag of chips.

"Chips? You just woke up."

"Yeah, but it's already noon."

"Do they have any food here?"

"You'd think they would, with two girls living here, but nope."

"Pizza?"

"Please."

I order two large pizzas and we stay lounging on the couch. Shauna and Lynn eventually come of Uriah's room. He let them use his bedroom for the night while he and Marlene slept on a blowup mattress. Christina is still in her room with Will and Tris hasn't come out of her room. Tori must've left before the rest of us even woke up.

Christina and Will eventually come out of her room. They both have ridiculous bedhead hair and look like they have hangovers. Christina steps on the air mattress in the middle of the room, which bounces Uriah awake.

"Rise and shine, Uri," she singsongs.

"I don't wanna," he groans and curls into Marlene.

"Nope, it's morning time," she jumps on the mattress making him groan.

He shoots her a dirty look as he sits up on the mattress. Will comes and sits in-between Zeke and I on the couch as we watch Christina torment Uriah.

"Up and at 'em," she jumps on the mattress more.

"I hate you," he yells and puts his pillow over his face.

"No you don't," she coos.

"I do," he says and throws the pillow at her face.

"Rude!" she yells before falling on top of him.

Marlene scurries out from the bed and sits in the chair in the living room, watching Uriah and Christina fight. I hear a bark and see Mayhem trot into the room with Tris in tow. She has a pair of jeans on and a black tank top. Her hair is braided and she gives me a small smile as she tries to go around the fight in the middle of the floor. As she goes to step over her wrestling roommates, Christina grabs her foot. Tris falls onto the two of them and begins trying to pin whoever she can.

"I think Tris is going to lose," Zeke says.

"No, she's scrappy," I respond as we watch Tris get Uriah off of her.

"She's so little though."

"She can use it to her advantage."

Tris wriggles her way out of Uriah's grasp as Christina slips out of the wrestling match. She comes over to the couch and sits on Will's lap. He gives her smile as he pulls her closer into him. I envy them, that they're in a spot where they can openly enjoy each other. Everyone seems to be in a good spot with another person right now. But I'm over here pining for the girl with a broken heart, the one who's afraid to trust me.

I think about this morning and how easy it is to talk to Tris. How comfortable I am with her. I'm okay with waiting for her to trust me, cause I feel like my feelings for her are somewhat reciprocated. If they weren't she wouldn't have let me kiss her on the cheek. It took a lot to not just pull her into an actual kiss.

"Get him Tris!" Christina yells.

Tris gets her left leg around to the right side of Uriah's torso and flips him over onto his back. She quickly hops on top of him and pins his arms down with her knees.

"Pinned ya," she grins.

"I let you win," he gives her a smug look.

"Liar."

"Truther. Now get off of me."

"Fine," she huffs and gets off of him. She sits on the floor and Mayhem goes over to her as always. The doorbell rings and Zeke hops off of the couch to get the pizza.

Zeke puts the pizza boxes on the coffee table in the room and we all grab a slice. We sit in the living room, each of us with pizza in our hands watching the different music videos. The music video for Candy Shop comes on and Tris' eyes widen as she watches the video.

"What are we watching?" Shauna asks.

"Top sexy videos," Zeke says, his eyes still on the screen.

"Why?"

"Cause they're sexy and there was nothing else on."

"I'll take you to the candy shop. I'll let you lick the lollipop. Go 'head girl, don't you stop. Keep going till you hit the spot," Christina sings along.

"You would know this song," Lynn laughs.

"What?" Christina plays innocence.

"You know every dirty song in the world."

"Do not."

"Don't even lie," Lynn smirks as the song comes to the end. Britney Spears comes on the screen next and once again Christina starts to sing along.

"Okay, I'm not gonna talk shit for this song," Marlene grins, "Every girl loves Britney deep down. And I mean look at her. Makes you wanna let out your inner stripper."

"Inner stripper?" Uriah raises her eyebrows.

"Every girl on the face of the planet has an inner stripper. Some just don't realize it, but when they find their stripper song you know," Christina gives everyone a devilish grin.

"This may be my stripper song," Marlene says before she starts singing along, "When can we get down like there's no one around. We keep on rocking, we keep on rockin'. Cameras are flashing while we're dirty dancing. They keep watching, keep watchin'. Feels like the crowd was saying."

"Definitely your stripper song," Christina says, "What's your stripper song, Lynn?"

"Dirrty."

"That's a good one. How about you Shauna?"

"Hot In Herre," Shauna blushes.

"Really?" Zeke raises his eyebrows and she nods.

"Tris," Christina wiggles her eyebrows.

"I don't have one."

"You just haven't found it yet. You'll find it. Let's go out tonight and find it," she grins.

"Tonight?"

"Yeah, don't worry I got some plans for us tonight."

"Am I allowed to come?" Will asks.

"Nope, girls only."

* * *

_Can I just say you guys seriously put the nicest things in your reviews! Like telling me that this could totally stand on its own as a story, not just as a __fanfiction. Talk about a confidence boost. _

_Things are slowly but surely starting to happen my dears :)_


	23. Linedancing

_As always thanks for all of the reviews my dears. This story is coming to an end. There is about two or so more chapters left. _

* * *

**TRIS**

I stare at the clothes Christina threw onto my bed. There is a pair of high-waisted cut off shorts that make the shorts I wear look like capris. Next to it is a tiny yellow crop top with sunflowers on it. On the floor is a pair of brown cowboy boots that she took from Marlene for me to wear. I let out a huff as I start to change, my ass almost falls out from the bottom of the shorts, but paired with the crop top only a little bit of my torso shows. The brown boots fit snuggly and I can tell that Marlene has worn them in.

I walk down the hall in the skimpy outfit and hear Uriah whistle at me, I give him the finger before going into the bathroom. My small makeup bag is in the cabinet and I take it out to put on the essentials. There is a small knock on the door after I've put on face powder and a tiny amount of blush.

"Yeah?" I call.

"Hey, it's me, let me in," Christina says from the other side of the door.

I open it and her eyes bug out of her head before she gets a wicked grin. She steps into the bathroom and shuts the door behind her.

"You look hot."

"Uh, thanks?"

"I knew that outfit would look amazing on you."

"Why the cowboy boots?"

"Because the only place open tonight that is eighteen and over is a country club, but it's fun I promise."

"I don't know anything about clubs."

"Country clubs just have line dancing, it's easy."

"Okay."

"Sit down on the toilet, I'm going to do your makeup."

I do as I'm told and close my eyes. The brushes seem to touch both of my eyelids multiple times before a wet liquid is put close to my lashes. Once the liquid liner has dried Christina has me look at her shoulders as she put mascara on my lashes. She smiles at me once she's finished.

"Look in the mirror," she beams.

I stand in front of the mirror and don't recognize the person in front of me. There is a bronze eye shadow on my lids with a chocolate brown color in the crease of them. In the corner of my eyes is a light white color, which makes my blue eyes look even bigger than usual. The black eye liner goes out into a small wing on each eye and the mascara makes my lashes look twice as long. I look at the light pink color on my lips. The makeup makes me look older and for the first time I actually feel stunning, not just average Tris with eyes that are too big and a skinny twelve-year-old body.

"So?"

"I like it, a lot," I smile at her.

"Really?"

"Yeah, I look…"

"Fine as hell."

"I was gonna say older," I laugh.

"Well I'm going to go change and then we can leave."

I go back into my room as I wait for her. My phone dings with a text message and I look at the screen. Susan's name appears and I open up the message. I'm greeted with a photo of her left hand and a small diamond ring is on her ring finger, in the background of the photo is my brother, grinning from ear to ear. I scream in excitement as I dial Caleb's number.

"Hello," I can hear his smile through the receiver.

"Are you serious?" I almost scream.

"Yes," he chuckles.

"Oh my gosh. Congratulations!"

"Thanks, Beatrice."

"When's the wedding?"

"We haven't gotten that far. I just proposed to her."

"I can't believe you're going to get married. You're only twenty."

"I'll be twenty soon enough."

"Why didn't you tell me you were going to ask her?"

"I didn't tell anyone. It was a surprise," he laughs.

"Caleb, you're going to have a wife."

"I know!"

"Are you as excited as I am?"

"I think I'm more excited than you are."

"Maybe," I chuckle.

"So do you think you can come back to Chicago in a few weeks. For the engagement party?"

"I don't know," I frown, "I work a lot."

"Try?"

"I'll definitely try my hardest."

"How's the new house working out?"

"I love it. I get along really well with Christina and Uriah."

"Eric's been leaving you alone?"

"I haven't seen or heard from him."

"Good. Dad's been asking about you."

"He can call me if he wants to know anything," I bite my lip.

"He's just being stubborn, but he misses you. I think he'll forget he was ever mad at you once he sees you."

"Really?"

"You're his baby girl, I know so."

"I'm really going to try to come back for the party."

"I know you will."

"Tris, I'm ready!" I hear Christina yell.

"Coming!" I yell back, "Hey, Caleb. I gotta go. I'm going line dancing with Christina tonight. I'll talk to you later."

"Line dancing?"

"Yes."

"You can't dance."

"Shut up."

"Bye, Bea."

"Bye, C." I smile as I hang up the phone, still excited over my brother's announcement. I'm not going to be the only girl in the family anymore.

I come out of my room and pat Mayhem on the head as I go out to meet Christina in the living room.

"Looking good," Marlene smiles at me from the couch.

"Thanks," I smile at her.

"You sure you don't want to come with us?" Christina asks her.

"Yeah, Uri said he's taking me on a date tonight."

"Well have fun, come on Tris."

"Bye, Mar," we say in unison.

"Later," she yells as we go outside.

I sit in the passenger side of Christina's car, paying attention to the things we pass. Christina taps her fingers against her steering wheel to every song. A different song comes on and I find myself slowly moving to the beat of it. My hips move in the seat and I find myself wanting to dance more.

"Put away that fake ID from Wisconsin. If you're over eighteen then it's on. I don't give a shit if you live with your mom. I know you hear 'bout me. Mickey Avalon, rap's Ron Jeremy."

"What song is this?" I cut off her singing.

"Stroke Me by Mickey Avalon. Why?"

"I like it," I continue dancing in the seat.

"It's your stripper song!" she exclaims as she watches me dance.

"What?" I laugh.

"It's a great stripper song. I mean it's raunchy as can be, but perfect for stripping," she gives me a smirk then sings along again, "Hey little lady, don't you say maybe. You and I could leave right now. Let's get naked, shake your moneymaker. Baby I'ma show you how to…"

We get to the country club and get in line to be let inside. Christina seems to notice guys looking at me and tries to bring it to my attention, but I don't notice it. She says it's because I don't understand how hot I am, I'm not your girl next door pretty, I've got striking features that grab attention. I laugh at her, but the attention gives me a boost of confidence that I didn't expect to have.

The has a bar in a corner and a few tables, the majority of the room is a dance floor that is a level lower than the rest of the establishment. Around the dance floor is a bar top for people to rest their drinks on while they watch the people on the dance floor. Everyone seems to be wearing cowboy boots, which make a loud noise on the dance floor.

Christina pulls me to the bar top to watch the group of people on the dancing. They all do the same thing at the same time; it's a big uniform group. This particular dance seems to be more than I could catch onto though. The song ends and some people get off of the dance floor.

"Let's do the wobble," the dj says and Christina grabs my hand pulling me onto the dance floor.

"This one is easy," she smiles at me.

The music starts and I try to follow Christina's lead. After going through the moves a few times I catch on to it all. I jump as everyone else does and move my hips as Christina does.

"Get it, girl," Christina yells to me as she switches sides and I follow her.

The large group of people does the dance all together and I laugh at myself as I move my hips along with everyone else. I bump into the boy next to me and mouth sorry to him as I feel my cheeks warm up. He gives me a smile and continues to dance next to me. The song ends and Christina grabs my hand to pull me off of the dance floor.

"I don't know the next one."

"What is it?"

"Fake ID. It's fun to watch though."

I nod at her and watch the group dance to Fake ID. The blond boy I bumped into while we were doing the Wobble is still dancing. I watch him do the moves perfectly; he catches my gaze and gives me a playful wink.

"Did that guy just wink at you?" Christina squeals.

"No?"

"He so did! Tris, you've got to dance with him."

"No way."

"You're not tied down, it's fine," she laughs.

"You're not tied down either," her cheeks go red when I say that, "What?"

"Well, Will kind of asked me to be his girlfriend last night."

"He did?"

"Yes," she smiles.

"Okay, so you are tied down," I say as the song ends.

The blond haired boy gets off of the dance floor and walks over to me. He is shorter than Tobias and his body is more bulky. Tobias has a leaner build even with his muscles, like he could run for miles. The boy gets closer to us, his brown eyes locked onto mine. Christina gives me a quick shove towards him.

"I'm Jaxon," he says sticking his hand out towards me.

"Tris," I say shaking his hand.

"Quite a handshake you've got there."

"Thanks," I laugh.

"I was wondering if you'd be willing to dance with me."

"I really don't know any of the dances."

"It's just a two step, all you have to do is follow my lead."

"I don't-"

"She'd love to," Christina cuts me off.

"Great," he gives me a charming smile and puts his hand out for me.

I grab his hand and follow him out to the dance floor. I face him, trying my hardest to follow his lead.

"Don't think too much, just go with it," he whispers to me and I get a quick chill.

"I'll try not to," I answer.

I watch his feet and begin to follow his lead more naturally. The dance is pretty simple and after a few times through the steps I fully understand how to do it. He smiles at me when I start doing it perfectly.

"Like a pro," he grins.

"It's really not that hard."

"I know, you should try the cowboy cha cha."

"What's that one?"

"Another partner dance, but it's got a few more steps in it. Some spinning too."

"I'm not sure how I'd do with spinning."

"It's easy, promise."

"I don't have a partner."

"I wouldn't mind being your partner again."

"Oh really?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I want to dance with the most decadent girl here?"

"Decadent?"

"Have you seen yourself?"

"You're quite the charmer, aren't you?"

"Is it working?"

"I'll let you know later," I laugh and continue to follow his lead.

We two step for a few songs before I decide to go check on Christina. She's standing at the bar top where I left her. She wears a smirk as I walk over to her.

"So?"

"It was fun," I smile at her.

"He's cute."

"Yeah."

"Is he nice?"

"Yeah."

"Are you going to talk to him more?"

"I don't know, he's not really my type."

"And what is your type?"

"Not that," I smirk at her.

"You going to come dance with me."

"What dance?"

"Casper Slide, the song literally tells you everything that you have to do."

"Alright," I laugh as she pulls me out to the dance floor with her.

Just like she said the song tells me exactly everything that I need to do. I copy Christina when the song says cha cha, figuring out how to do it. Christina moves her hips a certain way as she takes a few steps forward and backwards, I do what she does and find myself cha chaing.

We turn to the next side and there is a new guy standing in front of me. He's taller than me and wearing a pair of jeans that fit him perfectly, they're not too tight or baggy. The jeans show signs of wear, just like the t-shirt he has on. On his feet are a pair of dirty cowboy boots and he has a mesh hat on backwards, the hat reads 'Merica. Back to back world war champs. I chuckle to myself a little at the guy's obvious sense of humor then turn to the next direction so Christina is behind me.

We continue to do the dance and turn another time. I start to cha cha and then there is a pair of hands on my hips. The hands are long and slender, reaching around my whole torso. For a minute I'm taken back that a stranger has his hands on my hips, but then I decide to go with it and continue dancing. The song finishes and I go to get off of the dance floor but the hands tighten around my waist. I am about to turn around and yell at the strange guy, until I hear a familiar deep voice.

"You look good tonight, Bruiser," he whispers.


	24. The 4th

**TOBIAS**

She turns around quickly, I'm sure to tell me off and then her bright blue eyes, wide with shock, greet me. All I do is smile down at her.

"You're so stupid," she grins up at me.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Christina gives me a playful smack on the arm and suddenly Will pulls her into a kiss.

"Did you follow us?" Tris raises an eyebrow at me.

"I swear we didn't," I chuckle, "Will and I had nothing else to do. So he suggested we come here."

"So you line dance?"

"It's my dirty secret."

"I'd never take you as a guy who hangs out at a country club."

"There are a lot of things you don't know about me."

"Oh, really?"

"Really. But maybe I'll let you in on more of my secrets another time. Want a drink?"

"I can't I have x's on my hands," she says showing me the back of her hands.

"But I don't," I smirk.

"Okay, hot shot, thinking you're big and bad cause you can buy alcohol."

"Do you want a drink?"

"I wouldn't mind one."

"I'll be right back," I say and head to the bar.

I take a quick glance back over at Tris before I reach the bar. The tiny clothes she is wearing make me want to cover her up; worried that another guy will take interest in the girl I want. Her eyes more than pop with the makeup that I'm sure Christina put on her. She looks older in the outfit and it shows of the little bit of curves her body has. I want to stare at her but decide I should get the drinks and head back over to her instead.

I order a regular coke and a Captain and coke. Once I get the drinks I pour out the coke where none of the bartenders can see me and pour the Captain and coke into the cup. I turn on my heel to go back to Tris, but I stop in my tracks. There is a beefy blonde guy talking to her. No, he's shamelessly flirting with her.

I can feel myself turn green with envy as I see her laugh at whatever he said. He continues to talk to her and she plays along. A part of me wonders if she's enjoying talking to the guy.

Slowly I walk over to the two of them, I put an arm around her shoulders and she grabs the drink out of my hand. The guy gives me a curious look and I give him a smug one in return.

"Thanks, babe," Tris smiles up at me and I pull her into me a bit.

"You're welcome," I say to her, ignoring the guy standing across from her.

"This is Tobias, my boyfriend," she smiles at the blond.

"Jaxon," he says sticking his hand out to me.

I look down at his hand and back up at him giving him a small nod. He awkwardly pulls his hand back to his side.

"I'll see you later, Tris," he gives her a smile.

"Uh huh," she responds while playing with the ends of her hair.

He walks away from us and goes to the opposite side of the room. Christina and Will head our way from the same side of the room the guy went.

"What's wrong with blondy?" she asks Tris and motions towards Jaxon.

"He's sulking cause I told him Four was my boyfriend," she shrugs, staying next to me.

"Why'd you tell him that?" Christina squeals.

"He was creepy."

"He seemed nice."

"Yeah, really nice, until he told me he'd love to help me out of these shorts later tonight," Tris fakes a gag.

"Ew, he didn't."

"He did. Four came over right in time to save my ass."

"Oh I saved you?"

"Yes."

"So you owe me now that I rescued you."

"I do not owe you anything."

"Yes you do, you have to dance with me."

"Fine, I'll dance with you," she laughs.

"You know that guy probably thinks you were trying to two time your 'boyfriend'," Christina uses her finger to make air quotes.

"Why?" Tris cocks her head to the side.

"Cause you danced with him and totally flirted with him until he decided to be gross."

"Well he shouldn't have been gross and I told you already, he isn't my type."

"Yeah, yeah," Christina waves off Tris' rebuttal and follows Will to the dance floor.

I grab Tris' hand and she follows me. We stand behind Will and Christina. I put her next to me and wrap my right arm around her waist. She looks at me confused for a second and I grab her left hand with my right one. I motion to Christina and Tris follows how Christina stands, Tris puts her right arm over her left arm and grabs a hold of my left hand. The music starts and everyone starts moving in a circle.

"I'm lost," she whispers to me.

"Follow me, you move the same foot at the same time that I do," I say back to her.

She nods and when I move my right foot forward and rock on it she does the same. We do the same thing with the opposite foot and repeat the same steps again. Tris is about to repeat the steps again when I spin her instead. She makes a squeaking noise in the shock then lets out a small giggle. I grin down at her and I turn around so we're back in the position we started in.

"You catch on quick, Trissy," I say into her hair.

"Trissy?" she chuckles.

"Sure, why not? You called me babe not too long ago."

"That was to get rid of a creepy guy," she continues to follow my lead and I spin her again.

"Just to get rid of a guy?"

"Yes."

"And he wasn't your type?"

"Nope," she smirks.

"And what is your type?"

"Tough guys, the ones that other people are afraid to screw around with. Tall, dark and handsome."

"I think I know someone like that."

"I don't think you do," she coyly says.

"No, I'm positive I do."

"And who do you know that fits my type?" she plays along.

"Me of course."

"You?"

"Mhm."

"You're not my type, Four."

"You're my type, Bruiser."

"I am?" she raises an eyebrow at me.

"Definitely," I say as I spin her and she smiles.

"You're older than me."

"By a huge two years."

"You're an idiot," she giggles.

"I'm not kidding about you being my type."

"Really?"

"You can't take a hint can you?" I chuckle.

"What?"

"Tris I like you."

"Why?"

"You play with the boys on the boat and you're stunning. What's not to like? A chick that's awesome and likes to fish? I didn't even know they existed."

"Shut up," she blushes.

"I'm being serious."

"You've go to be kidding."

"I'm not. I have feelings for you Tris."

"I'm not ready for anything."

"I'm willing to wait."

"Why?"

"Cause I'm content being your friend and I know that you still have shit to work out."

"Thank you," she gives me a genuine smile and I feel my heart stop for a second.

"You're welcome," I say as I spin her once more.

**TRIS**

The boat is eerily quiet as I stock the galley for the trip tonight. Uriah and Zeke both decided to come along for the night, even though we aren't going fishing. On the fourth of July apparently we fill the boat with people from a different harbor and anchor just outside of that harbor, but still in the breakwater. Once it's dark enough there are fireworks everywhere and the water is the best place to see them.

Uriah helps me stock the galley before going out to the deck to make sure everything is sparkling clean. Harrison doesn't want his boat to look like a fishing boat tonight. It's supposed to be cleaner than that considering we aren't taking a bunch of fisherman to see the fireworks.

I'm excited to leave this weekend to go back home for just a couple of days. I had enough in my savings to fly back for Caleb's engagement party. Christina was more than happy to pick up the extra shifts for me.

I get the galley set up for the night and go outside to sit on the deck. I watch the boys clean for a while, but they're done fairly soon after me.

"This is one of the best shifts of the year," Zeke says to Uriah and I.

"Why?" I ask.

"Because it takes us about an hour to get to the next harbor and then we only have the people on our boat for about an hour before we bring them back to the harbor and head back home. And we get our full pay for the night. I mean sure we don't get tips tonight, but who cares?"

"I'll get tips," I wink at him.

"You probably will, sweetheart."

"Now what do we do?"

"Wait for our captain to hurry up and bring our food so we can leave for the night."

"Whose bike is that?" Uriah points to the lonely bike on the dock.

"I'm not sure, it's been here for a few days though," Zeke answers.

"Okay," Uriah says as he leaves the deck and goes to grab the bike.

Zeke and I watch him as he pulls the bike off of the dock and brings it on the boat. Uriah gets on the bike and starts riding around the boat. He bunny hops and it looks odd to see him riding a bike on the boat, but it's strangely humorous at the same time. After a few minutes of watching him Zeke hops in front of Uriah, almost causing him to crash.

"What was that for?" Uriah laughs.

"I want a turn."

"No way, it's my bike now."

"I'm going to take it away from you."

"I can take you."

"You wish," Zeke says as he pulls the bike away from Uriah and hops on.

Uriah pouts as he comes to stand next to me. Zeke does the same thing Uriah was doing. Then a mischievous grin is on Uriah's face and he yells for Zeke to stop.

"What?" Zeke says back to his brother.

"Want to see how far you get jump off of the boat?"

"You mean into the water?"

"Yeah."

"How?"

"We just need the rest the filet table up against the railing and you've got to start from the bow of the boat."

"Get that filet table up against the railing," Zeke yells as he pedals towards the bow.

Uriah and I grab the large piece of wood and prop it up against the railing so that it'll stay in place. We both stand on the raised level of the deck so that we can watch Zeke jump off of the makeshift ramp.

Zeke stands with the bike at the bow before he starts pedaling as fast as he can. We watch as he gains speed and gets closer to the ramp. The tires of the bike are slick against the wet deck but he hits the ramp perfectly. Uriah and I yell as Zeke gets off of the ramp and into the air. Zeke ditches the bike before he lands in the water with a splash. I find myself laughing hysterically as Zeke pops up from the ocean with a smile.

"Where's my bike?" Uriah laughs.

"On the bottom of the ocean floor," Zeke smirks.

"That was ten worthy," I say as I lean over the railing to look at him.

"Ten points, Uri?" Zeke asks as he pulls himself up onto the dock.

"Definitely."

"Did I seriously just see that?" Tobias yells from the parking lot.

"Nope!" Zeke yells back as water drips off of him.

Tobias comes down to the deck shaking his head at us, but wearing a grin at the same time. He's carrying a few bags of food and Zeke goes to grab it from him.

"Hey, give that back."

"Nope. You brought In-N-Out."

"You're not eating anything until we're off of the dock," Tobias grabs the bag back from Zeke.

"Then hurry up and get in the wheelhouse so we can leave and I can eat."

We leave the dock and Zeke runs into the wheelhouse. He hops onto the bed in-between Uriah and I who are already stuffing french fries in our mouths. Tobias skillfully leaves the harbor and continues to head to the next one.

Our boat is filled with people, families and couples. The galley stays pretty slow. Most of the people have already eaten dinner. One family sits in the galley, the wife is holding a baby that can't be more than six months old and there is a toddler between her and her husband. The baby looks around the room at everyone, but stays quiet. The mom of the baby looks over at me when she notices that the baby is staring at me.

"He loves girls," she grins down at the baby.

"Smart boy," her husband smirks.

"He's cute," I say to her.

"Thank you," she smiles at me.

Seeing the family together makes my heart race with excitement. In just a short few days I'll be with my family again. My brother will be just down the hall again, our parents room in the opposite direction.

Zeke anchors the boat and Uriah comes to get me out of the galley. He has me follow him to the wheelhouse, just a few steps behind Zeke. Tobias and Zeke sit on top of it, Uriah climbs up and Tobias helps me get on top of it too.

"Why do we come up here?" I ask them.

"Because there are too many people on the deck to begin with and it's a better view," Uriah says and he leans back.

I lean back like Uriah is and look towards the beach. I can see the shore, dotted with buildings and lights. People are everywhere; the whole area seems to be swarming with them.

When I was little my parents would take me to their friend's house for the night. The house was always filled to the brim with people and kids. In the kitchen was always a table of food. Foods that my parents never bought, they have always been against indulging. Caleb and I would eat cookies until we thought we were going to burst.

Outside of the house was always a jumper and most of the kids could be found in it. Caleb would pull me inside of it with him and we would jump until we were red in the face and our lungs burned from laughter. Once the sun had set the parents would get out containers of fireworks. All of the kids would be handed sparklers and we'd run barefoot down the blocked off road. Bright fire in our hands. Then someone would start to light the bigger fireworks. I would sit on my mom's lap and watch silently.

"Here we go," Zeke says as the first firework goes in the air.

The sky fills with different colors and loud bangs echoes off of the shore. Down on the ocean the water glitters with different colors. My body rocks back and forth gently and I find myself getting sleepy with the motion.

I lean onto Tobias' shoulder and close my eyes. When the fireworks are done the boys hop off the wheelhouse and help me down. I get back into the galley to get all the tabs paid off.

The night ends just as quickly as it started. I clean the galley and Uriah drives me home. Mayhem greets us at the door like usual and I immediately crawl into bed.

* * *

_Seriously, how come you guys are all so awesome? You all put such nice reviews!_

_Are any of you like me? I'm so curious about all of you. Like you all are such dolls and I know nothing about you! Tell me about yourselves, really do it! I'll tell you anything you want to know about me, if there is anything haha._


	25. Chicago

**TRIS**

I grab my duffle bag from the overhead compartment of the plane and wait to get off. Once I get of I go over to the parking lot as fast as possible. Caleb had texted me right when I landed, telling me where to meet him.

I get into the parking lot and I turn the corner and see a familiar classic Chevy Caprice in sea foam green with a black top. My dark haired brother sits on the hood of the car. His green eyes meet my blue ones and he gives me a large smile, showing off his dimpled cheeks. Caleb hops off of the car and runs over to me, I drop my duffle bag and meet him halfway. He lifts me up into a hug and his familiar warmth engulfs me.

"It's good to see you," he says as he puts me down.

"You too," I can't help but smile at him.

"I feel like it's been forever."

"Me too."

"Come on, Mom is waiting at home. Dad is already at work, he won't be home until dinner," he picks up my duffle bag and I follow him to the car.

"It's four in the morning," I say in a shock.

"Apparently he needed to finish some stuff before a meeting."

"Oh. So, Mom let you take the Caprice?"

"She said it needed to get out of the garage, I wasn't going to disagree with her."

"Of course not," I chuckle.

I run my hand across the smooth body of my mother's car. The Caprice had been her pride and joy. It was the first car she ever bought and she's kept it since. Caleb opens my door and I climb in. My feet find their way to the dashboard and I inhale the familiar scent of vanilla. Caleb starts the car and I see that there is no one else on any of the roads.

"I think getting here before everyone starts waking up was a good idea," I lean back onto the bench seat.

"Besides me having to wake up early."

"Thank you for picking me up."

"You're welcome, Bea."

We drive in a pleasant silence for a while. I'm surprised that I haven't fallen asleep, but then again I'm too excited to sleep. I could barely get any sleep last night. Caleb takes a turn in the wrong direction and I raise my eyebrow at him.

"Trust me," he grins.

He takes the car farther down the road and we're eventually in a gravel parking lot. The car comes to a stop and Caleb puts his window down, he then leans over and lowers mine.

"What are we doing here?"

"Taking the Caprice out for a spin."

I bite my bottom lip in anticipation and lean forward to reach the radio. It's already on a classic rock station, where my mom always keeps it. I turn the volume up to the point that I have to yell at Caleb to hear him. The radio hosts stops talking and 20th Century Boy fills the speakers. Caleb revs the engine and then floors it.

The car growls to life as we speed forward. He makes a hard left turn and I slide across the seat into him with a squeal. I laugh as he makes the car do donuts, but I can't hear my own laughter, only the chorus of the song blaring through the sound system.

"Friends say it's fine, friends say it good," Caleb yells with the song.

"Ev'rybody says it's just like rock n' roll," I yell in response.

When Caleb started driving he wasn't allowed to touch her prized possession, but one night we took it out. He wanted to drive it and I wanted to go along. We spent the night driving way too fast down the freeway. My mom knew that we took the car out; she nonchalantly mentioned that the car was parked horribly in the garage. Caleb was grounded for a week and so was I, but it was worth it. She told us that we shouldn't drive her car until she taught us how to.

Once I turned sixteen she took us out in her car, but she didn't let us drive it. She took us to an empty parking lot much like this one and drove the car like she belonged in NASCAR. My brother and I were shocked, but that was soon turned into excitement as she took hard turns. The three of us spent probably an hour in the car, blasting my mom's favorite rock station with the wind blowing through the car. I had never seen my mother so carefree in my life, but her car is her escape. Going fast can make you forget what's weighing you down; you just leave everything behind, because it can't keep up with you.

"Move like a cat, talk like a rat. Sting like a bee, babe I wanna be your man. Well it's plain to see you were meant for me, yeah. I'm your toy, your 20th century boy," Caleb and I sing along.

He brings the car to a stop once the radio goes to another break. I turn the volume down and look at him. His eyes are filled with life and I'm sure mine are too.

"I'm glad your back," he stares at me.

"Me too," I respond, knowing exactly what he means.

I'm myself again, not a sad girl. Going to California made me remember who I am and I'm not going to forget who I'm supposed to be anytime soon.

We pull up to our small house and Caleb parks the car. My palms begin to sweat, as I get nervous about seeing my mother. We've settled our differences, but I haven't seen her since I left with Eric.

Caleb gets out first and I follow behind him. He opens the front door and I'm instantly overcome by the comfort of my home. My mom comes out from the kitchen and pulls me into a tight hug. I keep my arms wrapped around her, taking in her familiar smell. The same smell that made me feel safe when I was younger, it still has the same effect on me.

"You look good, Bea," she smiles at me.

"Thanks," I say to her, my blue eyes keeping contact with her green ones.

"Come tell me about California," she takes my hand and leads me to the living room.

She takes a seat on the couch and I sit next to her. Caleb comes and sits on the other side of me.

"Where do I start?"

"Friends?" she says to me.

"I've made a few, I met them through work. They're all really great, totally different from the friends I had here."

"I wasn't fond of the friends you had here," Caleb chimes in.

"After meeting everyone in California, neither am I," I chuckle.

"How do you like your job," my mom asks.

"I love it. We go out almost every night to fish, I work with my roommate Uriah and his brother Zeke. Our captain, Four, is the same age as Zeke. And then my other roommate is Christina she is the day cook."

"Four?" she raises an eyebrow.

"That's his nickname."

"His real name?"

"Tobias," I smile at her and she smirks at me.

"Alright, I was more then confused for a second."

"Everyone is really great, you'd love them. After everything with Eric-"

"We don't need to talk about him," she cuts me off.

"I've haven't heard from him since he came looking for me at work."

"And how do you feel about that?"

"A part of me is hurt by it, because I let him in so much. I really tried to make things work with him. But then there is a part of me that is so relieved that he's gone."

"I'm glad you're rid of him," Caleb crosses his arms, "If I ever see him I'll probably deck him."

"Caleb," my mother laughs.

"I'm just saying," he responds.

"Well I doubt you're ever going to see him again," I say.

"How do you like your house," my mom asks.

"It's really nice. The rooms aren't too big but our backyard is really nice. Christina was begging to have a dog, so we went and got one. He's a pit-bull mix and he's a really good dog. Even though Christina is the one that wanted him, he's takin' a liking to me."

Once we're done playing catch up my mom goes and gets some breakfast for all of us. We spend the day lounging around the house, not doing anything productive.

I hear my father's car pull into the driveway around dinnertime. I'm in the kitchen with my mother, helping her make dinner. There is a pot of potatoes boiling on the stove, almost ready to be mashed. My mom checks on the chicken in the stove.

The front door of the house opens and my heart finds its way to my throat. I gulp it back down into my chest and I hear his footsteps coming into the kitchen. He stops in the doorway, putting his briefcase down on the floor. His dark hair is still perfectly in place, even after a long day of work.

I try to keep my eyes away from his green ones, not wanting to see the emotion in them. I don't want to know if he's still angry with me, I assume he is. My eyes focus on the potatoes in front of me and I stay silent. He walks over to me and it feels like everyone has frozen.

"Beatrice," he whispers once he's right in front of me. Slowly I raise my eyes up to his and I'm surprised by the reaction I receive. He smiles down at me, the corner of his eyes crinkling. My dad puts his hands on either side of my face and then leans down to kiss my forehead. The action makes me feel like a little girl again and I throw my arms around his waist. He pulls me closer into himself, resting his chin on the top of my head.

"I'm sorry," my voice is muffled by his shirt.

"Me too," he says, "I was being stubborn."

"You're not mad at me," I ask, raising my head so I can look at him.

"How can I be mad at you for growing up? I just didn't want to accept that my baby girl isn't a baby anymore."

The engagement party at Susan's house goes well. Everyone seems to enjoy themselves and my brother doesn't leave Susan's side. He keeps his eyes on her the whole night, a small smile constantly on his lips. Susan seems oblivious to my brother, but then again she's probably used to him being so enthralled with her. Every now and then she'll turn to him and steal a kiss.

My parents sit next to each other, their hands constantly entwined. They have never been the types to be affectionate in public. I've never seen them kiss each other. It's always just a hug or simply holding hands. My mom rests her head on my dad's shoulder and he rests his cheek on her.

I stare at my mom and for the first time since I've been home I realize how tired she looks. Her eyes have dark circles under them and her skin is pale.

We help clean everything up before heading home. Caleb gives Susan a chaste kiss before getting in the car with us.

"Everything went perfect," my mom smiles back at him.

"Yeah it did," he beams.

"You two ready to start planning?"

"She's had everything planned out since she was like five," he chuckles.

"Sounds like a typical girl."

"All girls plan their weddings years before they're even engaged?"

"Most do, I'm sure Bea even has some ideas of what she wants hers to look like."

"I don't though," I say.

"If she thought about it for just a few minutes I promise she'll think of something," my father grins at me I through the mirror.

The drive home is short and we're all sluggish getting out of the car. I need to go pack everything back up and get ready to go back home. I took the minimum days off of work; I don't want to give Christina more doubles than I already have. Tomorrow is Monday, so the boat won't be running. Which works out perfectly so I can get into a routine again.

"Will you two meet us in the living room?" my dad asks as he opens up the front door.

Caleb and I nod in response and both go upstairs to change into some pajamas. I put on a pair of Caleb's boxers and a tank top before I head into the bathroom to brush my teeth. The two of us head to the living room together, both sitting on the couch. My parents come into the room and sit together on the loveseat across from us.

My mom's eyes are tired and my father taps his foot on the floor. Caleb and I watch them intently; neither of us is sure why they want to talk to us.

"You know how Mom's had that lingering cough all summer," my dad says to Caleb.

"Yeah, her allergies?"

"Joy told me that my cough was starting to worry her, she said that it isn't normal to have such a horrible cough in the summer. I assured her that it was nothing, I mean I haven't been congested or anything," my mom's eyes bounce back and forth between the two of us.

"Mom went to the doctor to get it checked out," my dad pauses and I start to feel sick to my stomach.

"What's going on?" Caleb's eyes are frantic.

"They found a spot on my lung," my mom's eyes start to well with tears.

"And?" I ask.

"It's cancerous," my dad answers for her, he bites his lip.

"So what's going to happen?" Caleb's mind is already turning with questions.

"The doctor said that we could try a surgery to remove the tumor on my lung and then after that I'll have to do some chemotherapy," my mom takes in a deep breath.

"So you're going to beat it," I state.

"We're going to do everything we can," she answers me.

"No, you're going to beat it," my eyes are getting damp and I fight back the tears.

"It's stage three honey," my dad says softly to me, his voice cracking with sadness.

"That doesn't mean anything," Caleb says, "People can beat cancer."

"Stage three doesn't have many survivors," my mother whispers and the tears in her eyes break free.

"But people can beat it," my brother states.

"They can baby, but not many do," she swipes at the tears rolling down her cheeks. My dad puts his arm around her waist and pulls her into him. She rests her head on his chest as her cheeks are bombarded with streams of salt water.

"So what do we do?" my voice cracks and I suck in a sharp breath, nausea has overtaken my body.

"We fight it," my dad answers with his red eyes looking at me.

"What did the doctor's say?" I swallow hard, not wanting to know the answer but needing to know.

"Only about fifteen percent of people make it to five years after being diagnosed."

"So Mom is going to beat it and make it past five years," I bite my trembling bottom lip.

"Baby, we've got to be realistic about this," my dad chokes back a sob and my mom wraps her arms around his middle.

"I am being realistic," I wipe my face.

"Baby," my mom says as she unwraps her arms from my dad's body.

She climbs onto the armrest of the couch and slides down next to me. Her arms pull me into her chest and I can hear the rapid beat of her heart. She's scared, just like the rest of us. Caleb lets out a small wail and covers his mouth with his hands. My dad is quickly off of the loveseat and next to Caleb; he rubs his hand up and down my brother's back. I sniffle into my mom's hair and see my brother next to me, he grabs for our dad. Our dad hugs Caleb and Caleb just heaves in sadness, my dad's body shakes with each breath that Caleb tries to suck in in-between his sobs.

We stay on the couch for what seems like forever, all of us bundled up. A mass of tangled limbs and puffy eyes. My body aches from the sobs that haven't left me. The realization that I have a flight back to California tomorrow hits me.

"I have to leave tomorrow," I whisper.

"I know Baby," my mom soothes me.

"I don't want to go."

"You've got to."

"I'm just going to get my stuff and then I'm coming back home."

"Beatrice, you have a life in California."

"I have a life here too. I can go to school here and work somewhere around here."

"You need to do what's best for you."

"I want to be here with you," I sniffle.

"Okay, honey. Just let us know when you're flight back here will be and Caleb will go get you, okay?"

I nod and stay in the dog pile that is my family. We all seem to be holding on to each other, swiping at tears and muffling sniffles.

* * *

_Thanks for all of the reviews loves!_

_In celebration of FINALLY washing my disgusting car I decided to post a long chapter for you guys. There is only one chapter left!_

_So I'm only in a few fa__ndoms, this one, obviously. Then Hunger Games and Game of Thrones. And I'm seriously obsessed with Supernatural and it's my boyfriend's fault. It's like his favorite show. I don't even know who my OTP is, I know, lame haha. And last but not least I am twenty.  
_


	26. The End

**TOBIAS**

I sit on the tailgate of my truck, waiting for Tris to come. She turns the corner and for a minute she looks smaller than I've ever seen her. There are no bags in her hands and I hop of off my truck confused.

"Hey," I say to her.

"Hi," she whispers.

"Where is your stuff?"

"In Chicago."

"Why?"

"Because I'm leaving this weekend. I'm only here to finish this week of work and get my stuff."

I feel like someone has knocked the wind out of me. Tris and I are finally on the same page. We are in a new spot in our friendship, what we have is more than a friendship now. She looks tired and beat up, her demeanor isn't the same Tris that I work with.

"Why?" I whisper to her.

"My mom," she chokes out and her eyes well with tears.

"What?" I'm confused. She left here excited and now she's back only to leave again.

"She's got cancer and it doesn't look good," she turns away from me, trying to keep herself from crying.

"Oh, Tris," I breathe out and reach for her.

She comes to me easily and clings to the back of my shirt. Her body shakes with sadness and I feel helpless as I hold her. I can't do anything to make this okay or make her feel better. My shirt is getting damp, I can feel her tears on my chest. I place one of my hands on the back of her head, keeping her close to me. We stand in the parking lot for a few minutes before I kiss the top of her head and she looks up at me.

"Let's go get your stuff packed," I softly say to her and she nods.

The week goes by faster than I'd like and soon enough it's time for me to bring Tris back to the airport. But this time it's to say goodbye and I don't know how long this goodbye is going to last.

Christina wipes her tears as she hugs Tris. Will, Uriah and Zeke each give her a quick hug before she moves to the rest of the girls. Everyone seems to be down today, none of us are sure of when we'll get to see her again. Tris crouches down to the brown dog on the floor, she whispers something to him before she kisses his muzzle.

She silently walks out to my truck and I toss her bags into the bed. Everyone waves bye to her one last time as I pull out of the driveway and onto the street. We sit in silence, only the soft classic rock music from my speakers playing. Tris keeps her eyes focused on the coastline, she won't be able to see the ocean anymore.

We get the LAX sooner than we expected and I park my truck in one of the parking structures. Tris has her feet resting on the dashboard, her eyes focused on her hands. She's the only person that's ever put their feet up while I'm driving and I realize that I'm going to miss it.

"So," I say, picking at the steering wheel.

"I guess this is goodbye," she frowns.

"Only for now," I look over at her.

"But we don't know how long now is going to last."

"We'll find out."

"I wish this wasn't happening."

"Me too," I frown.

"I don't know what I'm supposed to do," she sucks in a sharp breath and lays her head back onto the seatrest, closing her eyes.

"I have something for you," I say, digging into my back pocket.

She stares at the small brown box in my hands. I place it in her hand and she slowly opens it up. Her eyes focus on the tiny pendant on the silver chain. In black is a swimming shark. Tris picks up the pendant and rubs her thumb over the smooth metal.

"You just keep moving forward," I tell her, "You never stop swimming. Don't let yourself sink in Chicago and keep taking steps ahead."

"I will," she whispers.

"Turn around," I tell her as I take the necklace from the box.

She turns and I bring the chain around her neck, clasping it together. I pull her hair out from under the chain. Tris turns to look at me, the small shark pendant landing right inbetween her collarbones.

"What do you think?" she smiles at me.

"It looks perfect," I grin at her.

"Thank you," she whispers.

"You're welcome."

"I'm going to miss you," she frowns.

"I'm going to miss you more."

"Yeah," she bites her bottom lip.

"I told you not to do that around me," I smirk.

"Oops," she gives me a smug look.

We stare at each other. Her blue eyes still glossy from saying her goodbyes. Tris looks so fragile for the first time since I've met her.

"You're not going to forget about me, right?" her eyes search mine.

"How could I?"

"Easily."

"Not easily. I'm not going to forget you. You'll probably get sick of my calls and texts. You'll be begging for me to leave you alone."

"No way," she grins.

"Way."

She looks hard at me for a few moments, like she's trying to figure me out. Trying to discover if I'm being sincere or not.

"You hide so much," she says.

"What?"

"Your eyes are so dark and shut off. Like you're constantly keeping the truth about who you are from everyone. But every now and then it's like you forget to put your walls up and your eyes aren't so dark anymore. Like you've decided to let me in on some kind of secret."

"I have a lot to hide."

"How can I like you so much but barely know anything about you?"

"I ask myself the same question when it comes to my feelings about you."

"I'm going to come back here. I don't know when, but I will. And I want you to still be here."

"I'll be up in the wheelhouse like always," I smile at her.

"You promise?"

"Promise."

We get out of the truck and I go grab her bags. She walks slowly towards the luggage drop off. Everything is somber about this moment. Nothing is known right now. She doesn't know if her mother is going to pull through or if she won't. I don't know if I'm going to see her again and if I do I don't know when.

"So this is goodbye," she says facing me.

"Yeah," I frown.

"I'll let you know when I land?"

"Please."

"I'm going to miss you, Tobias."

"I'll miss you too, Beatrice."

"I'm going to come back though."

"I know."

She takes a step towards me and wraps her arms around my torso, resting her cheek against my chest. I know that she can hear my heart racing, racing from the closeness of us. My arms stay around her, not wanting to let her go. I'm not ready for her to leave. I kiss the top of her head and she looks up at me with a melancholy smile. She lets go of me and I take my arms off of her.

"Bye, Tobias."

"Bye, Tris."

She turns away from me and starts to walk away. My hands find their way into my pockets. I watch Tris slowly leave, every step taking her farther away from me. Adrenalin starts to pump through my veins and my heart races. I take a few strides towards her and grab her wrist, spinning her into me. She bumps into my chest and looks up at me with her wild blue eyes.

I put my hands on her face and pull her chin up, leaning down while I do it. She looks up at me expectantly. My heart pounds inside of my chest as her blue eyes stare up at me. I rest my forehead on hers and she grins up at me.

"Is this some kind of hint that you aren't ready for me to leave," she looks up through her eyelashes.

"More like I've been dying to do something to her for a while now and I can't let you leave, yet."

"And what is it?"

"This," I whisper as I close the small gap between our lips.

Her lips are salty from the tears that brushed against them earlier today and I can't stop myself from continuing our kiss. She moves her lips against mine lightly, but just heavy enough that I can feel their presence on my own. Tris pulls away from our kiss her cheeks are blushed and her eyes don't leave mine. I smile down at her and she lets out a small giggle, which causes me to smile bigger.

"I'm really going to miss you," she whispers.

"You don't mind that I just kissed you?"

"I'd kind of like to do it again," she smirks as she reaches her arms around my neck and pulls me down, our lips colliding against each other again. I break our kiss and wrap my arms around her torso while hers stay wrapped around my neck. I easily lift her up into a hug.

"Bye, darling," I mumble into her hair.

"Bye, babe," she whispers back to me.

I put her down on the ground and kiss her on the forehead before she takes a step back. I grab her hand and she smiles up at me, she starts to walk away from me. She goes a few steps forward and our hands slide out of our grasp. My hand falls to my side. Tris continues walking away from me, she turns her head over her shoulder and gives me a teeny wave. I wave back at her and watch as she disappears into the crowd.

* * *

_So there it is, the last chapter of part one. Part two will be strictly from Tris' point of view and I've already got a few chapters of it written up. _

_Alright some answers to a few more of your guys' questions._

_I've always been a lover of poetry and in high school I took a creative writing class that focused mostly on poetry, but we had to write some stories too. So that's really when I started writing stories. My dad is a writer and I guess I picked up on it from him. _

_I came up with this story just from working on a charter fishing boat in my teens. I grew up on the boat because my older brother has worked on it since he was about twelve and the captain has known me since I was around seven. It's a male dominant industry and it can be tough being a girl out on the water, but it's totally worth it when you work with awesome people. There are some things in the story that are very similar to things that we do/have done on the boat._

_I am twenty. I'm 5'6" on the dot and have been since about middle school. My little brother loves to tell me that I have man shoulders because they are a bit broad. I guess I've got an athletic build. I've got hair that goes to about the middle of my back and it's like a caramel blonde color. My eyes are hazel in color. I've also got really tiny hands and feet, they aren't proportionate to my height. _


	27. Part Two

**Part two**

I roll out of my bed quietly and slip on a pair of running shorts and a tank top. My family is all still asleep when I leave.

Running has become the only time for me to figure out the jumble of thoughts constantly going through my head. The minute I'm out of the door I start sprinting. My feet pound against the pavement with each stride. I sprint until my lungs start to burn and my ribcage can't expand anymore as I try to suck in air. Eventually I have to slow down, my legs ache and I raise my arms over my head to help catch my breath.

I've only been home for a month, but it seems like it's been longer. My lungs crave the salt air that surrounds the California coast. Every part of me craves the vast ocean that I spent my nights on. I'm more homesick than I expected I'd be. When I first left Chicago I assumed that it'd always be my home but now I've realized that my home is in a different part of the country.

I walk around the neighborhood, smoothing out my constantly tangled mind. My breaths become even and I bring my arms down from my head to hug myself. So much has changed in less than half a year.

My family has gotten closer than I ever thought was possible, but when things get hard we cling to each other. Unfortunately after more testing we realized that my mother couldn't undergo surgery, the cancer had progressed too much. It had already spread into her lymph nodes, leaving chemotherapy as her best option.

Her body doesn't handle the treatments well and she is nauseous most of the time. She's thinner than I've ever seen. We all try our hardest to get her to eat and she forces down as much food as she can, but we all here her heaving in the bathroom almost every morning.

Her sickness doesn't affect me like I thought it would. I've accepted that the treatment is only lengthening her life, it's not going to put her in remission. We've all started to look at the situation realistically. She most likely won't make it through the year, but our goal is to make her comfortable and spend as much time with her as possible.

Caleb and Susan have moved their wedding forward, figuring that they can get everything done and put together in around two months. My mom is fighting to get to the wedding, she wants to stand up at the ceremony for my brother.

I've discovered more about my mother in the last month than I'd ever known before. We've become more open with each other and she's so much stronger than I ever knew.

She's overheard many of my phone calls from people in California. She knows a few facts about everyone and understands who I'm talking about when I tell her something that's happened at home. The only person she doesn't ask much about is Tobias. I'm sure she's heard some of our short conversations, but she keeps her comments to herself.

I pause for a moment and my right hand automatically reaches for the small pendant around my neck. The black shark in it makes small ridges and I can feel them when I run my thumb over it. It's my visual reminder to always go forward and not dwell on anything that has already passed.

It feels like years ago that Tobias kissed me. The kiss had made my heart race and my cheeks get hot. I run my finger over my bottom lip. Tobias makes me feel differently than Eric ever did. With Eric everything was a hope, I had hoped for him to value our relationship more. I had hoped that he would grow to respect me. But with Tobias, it's all natural. He never pushed me into anything and he became one of the best friends I've ever had.

We don't talk about the kiss at the airport. He mostly asks about my mom and how I'm doing. At the end of every conversation he reminds me to be brave and reassures me that I am strong. Our friendship has grown since I left, but so has my desire to have him near me.

Tobias keeps so much of himself a secret and I keep most things to myself. I bottle up my emotions and keep a cap tightly on them. Avoiding things that hurt is how I get through each day. I can't explain my feelings for him, especially considering that I know very little about him. I only know the things that everyone knows about me.

I finish my run and go back home. My dad kisses me on the cheek as he leaves for work. Caleb is still sleeping in his room and needs to go cake tasting with Susan today.

My mom is sitting on the chair in the living room, she looks like a child in it. Her skin is pale and her once long brown hair has begun to fall out. She gives me a smile as I enter the room. She has become my number one priority and nothing will get in the way of me taking care of her. No matter how afraid I am to lose her, I will not let it take over the time I still have with her.

"How was your run?" she tries to make her voice audible, but with having a chemo treatment yesterday I know she's feeling horrible.

"It was good," I smile at her as I take a seat on the floor in front of her and cross my legs.

"You know I was thinking that you should work at the boxing gym near Susan's house."

"Why?"

"I was talking to Max."

"Neighbor Max?"

"Yes and he was saying that they've been looking for some new personal trainers."

"Mom, I know nothing about working out."

"He could teach you though. And he said that Lauren is more than willing to help."

"Lauren is working for him now?"

"He got her sucked into the world of fitness not too long after you left."

"I never thought I'd see her working for her stepfather."

"They get along a lot better now that they've been working together."

"Do you think I'd be able to do it?"

"I know you would," she smiles at me, her lips aren't even pink anymore, "It's a job that can become a career."

"You don't think Daddy would mind?"

"Daddy?" she smirks at me.

"What?"

"You haven't called your father Daddy for years."

"He feels like a daddy again and not so much a dad."

"He's softened up with you kids since we found out."

"Yeah," I swallow, not liking to discuss my mom's sickness. It makes it too real.

"He thinks it'd be good for you."

"Really?"

"Mhm, so think about it and if you want to start training Max said just to go to the gym whenever you're free. Lauren is almost always there."

"Okay, I'm going to go shower." I get up from my spot and she nods at me.

"Wake up lazy bones while you're there," she calls to me.

"I'll get him up."


	28. Chapter 28

I check on the spaghetti noodles that are currently in a pot of boiling water. My mom is asleep on the couch in the living room. Caleb is still out with Susan and my dad won't be home for a while. He's doing some paper work with his boss.

The kitchen is warm and smells like tomato sauce that is currently heating on the stovetop. I busy myself in the kitchen; my bare feet slide against the clean tiles. Country music plays softly from the stereo that my dad put in when I was young. He's always been a fan of country music; he says it's easy to listen to. My parents have never agreed on music. Caleb and I are fine with both though.

I hum along to a Kenny Chesney song as I remove the cooked noodles from the pot. My phone dings with a text message and I open up a message from Uriah. I grin when I see the picture of Mayhem sitting on Tobias' lap. Tobias has his Chicago Cubs hat on and a beer in his hand. Mayhem's long tongue hangs out of his mouth and Tobias has one arm around the dog. Uriah's text says, _Mayhem wants to be a Chihuahua and Four seems to be okay with it. _I text back. _That's the biggest Chihuahua I've ever seen._

Caleb comes through the front door and goes straight into the living room. He comes back with a worn out grin. We don't say anything to each other as he helps me finish dinner. It's a silent dance that we've known since we were young. My mom taught us to help in the kitchen when we were both little and as we grew up we were both in charge of cooking dinner at lease once a week.

He sets the table and I go to wake my mom up. I crouch down near the couch and gently rub her shoulder. Where there used to be muscle is slowly becoming nothing more than bone. She is deteriorating right in front of my eyes and there isn't anything I can do to stop it. At one point I thought she was invincible, nothing in the world could defeat her, but now she is slowly slipping away from me.

"Wake up mom," I whisper and she opens her green eyes.

"Hi, baby."

"You hungry?"

"I'll eat a little bit," she tucks a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Caleb set the table already.'

"Okay," she slowly starts to get off of the couch.

I want to help her up but decide against it. She is still strong and she hasn't asked for any help yet. She gets up and takes in a few breaths before walking to the kitchen. Caleb pulls out a chair for her and she eases herself into it. I get her a small plate of food and she prays before the meal like she always does when my dad isn't home.

We eat in silence, not knowing what to say. I look over at my mother. Her green eyes seem more sunken in and dark circles are around them. It seems like every day her hair is less there.

The first few days after her chemo treatment are the roughest. She's sick as can be, but tries her hardest to keep a smile on her face. By the time she feels almost a hundred percent again it's time for another treatment.

"Did you decide on a cake?" she looks over at Caleb.

"I just told Susan to get whatever she wants," he grins.

"Smart man," my mom smiles back at him.

"I guess I learned a thing or two from you."

"I hope you learned only good things from me."

"Everything about you is good, mom."

"No, there are traits that you don't need of mine."

"Like what?" I ask.

"Neither of you need my stubbornness."

"Bea is stubborn," my brother smirks at me.

"Not like I was," my mother looks over at me.

"Do you know when dad is going to get home?" I ask.

"I'm not sure. I feel like he's been working more than usual, but I guess that's what happens when you get a promotion."

"Does he like his job?"

"I think so. He seems to get along with his boss well."

"That's always good," I say.

"I think you may get along with your boss better than you dad gets along with his though," she raises an eyebrow at me.

"I haven't heard much about your boss," my brother states before putting a huge bite of spaghetti in his mouth.

"There's nothing to tell."

"You keep telling yourself that," my mom smiles at me.

We all eat a few more bites and I look over at my mom's plate. It looks like she's barely touched it and I frown. She stares at the ends of her hair, they're thin and breaking.

"I'm going to see Joy soon," she says picking at her hair.

"You are?" my brother asks.

"Yeah, I think it's time to figure out what I'm going to do with my hair."

"Well if anyone will know Joy will be the person."

Joy is my mother's best friend and my honorary aunt. They met in high school and became inseparable. When they graduated they both took a year off of school before starting college. Joy ended up going to beauty school and became a cosmetologist, my mother however decided that my father was her future and became too infatuated with him to decide on school. While Joy was learning how to cut and color hair my mother was planning a wedding.

My parents had grown up together, always at the same school sometimes in the same classes. She started tutoring him when they were in high school and that's where she first realized that she had a crush on him. The two started dating at the young age of sixteen and got married when they were just starting their twenties. They moved fast, my dad became the provider and my mother became the home keeper. Between taking care of things at home she also spent time volunteering for different charities and groups.

Before their first anniversary my mom found out that she was pregnant with Caleb. She was a new mother at the young age of twenty-one and by the time she was twenty-two she had two babies at home to take care of.

My phone dings with another text message and my mom looks over at the phone on the counter. When it dings a second time she looks over at me with a smirk.

"Who is texting you, Beatrice?" she singsongs.

"Probably Uriah."

"That's your roommate, right?"

"Yeah."

"Is he texting you about anything important?"

"He sent me a picture of our dog."

"You know I haven't seen what your dog looks like."

"Wanna see him?"

She nods to me and I push my chair away from the table. I go to my phone and read the message from Uriah._ He's just a little on the heavy side for a Chihuahua_. I look at the picture again and grin before responding. _Don't give our dog a complex_. My mom looks over at me expectantly. I click on the photo to enlarge it before handing her my phone.

"That's Mayhem," I smile at her and point to the large brown dog.

"He looks scary."

"It's all looks, he's actually a really big baby."

She looks closer at the picture and I know for a fact that she is looking at Tobias and not my dog. She smirks at me quickly before taking another quick look at my phone.

"What?" I bite my bottom lip.

"Who's the boy?"

"What boy?"

"The boy that your dog is sitting on."

"Oh, him. That's Four," I say nonchalantly.

"Four, that's her boss right?" my brother asks.

"Yep," my mom grins at him before handing him the phone. Caleb takes a look at the picture and furrows his brows.

"Your dog is huge," Caleb widens his eyes.

"I know," I chuckle, "He's something mixed with a pit-bull. We're not sure what though."

"I think it's a Rhodesian Ridgeback."

"A what?"

"Rhodesian Ridgeback."

"How come you know so much?"

"Cause I read. I'm pretty sure he's a Rhodesian Ridgeback though."

"I've never heard of that before."

"It's a breed that was developed in Southern Africa. They were used as guard dogs for hunters. The dogs would keep the lions at bay."

"Why do you think that my dog is half ridgeback?"

"Well he's got the big blocky head like a pit-bull but he isn't stalky like one. I mean you can tell he's a beefy dog, but he's tall too. I'm sure he's protective, right?"

"Aren't most dogs?"

"Some dogs are natural guard dogs though."

"He's pretty protective of everyone, but he won't let anyone even rough house with me."

"So you're his person."

"I guess."

"Does he like your boss?"

"Yeah, he took a liking to him right away."

"I bet he's pretty protective over him now considering you're not there anymore."

"I wouldn't know."

Caleb clears the table and puts the left overs in the fridge while I follow my mom to her room. She changes from her sweats into her pajamas and crawls into her bed. I get on top of the covers on my dad's side and rest my head on his pillow. She runs her fingers through my hair for a while. We sit there and I wonder how many more times she'll be able to do this with me.

When I was younger she would trim my hair. Joy had taught her how to do it so she figured she might as well do it herself. My mom always used to put my hair in buns at the nape of my neck when I was little. She'd stand behind me in the bathroom and do my hair every morning.

"Do you miss all of your friends in California?" she asks me.

"I do."

"You a little homesick?" she asks and I nod, "It's hard to leave a place you love."

"Things were just starting to pan out there, but honestly I rather be here with you."

"I'm glad you're here."

"Me too."

"You know your captain is a nice looking boy."

"Are you saying my boss is cute?"

"No, I'm saying your boss is handsome," she smirks at me, "You like him, huh?"

"No."

"You're such an awful liar, Beatrice."

"I mean, he's really nice and he's a good friend."

"You can admit that you like him."

"I don't know a lot about him though."

"You've only known him for a few months."

"Yeah."

"And just from those few months you already have feelings for him."

"How come you can figure everything out?"

"Cause you're my baby. It's a mother's intuition."

"So all mom's just know?"

"A lot of them. When you have kids you'll understand."

"What am I supposed to do?"

"About?"

"My boss."

"What do you mean?"

"There is a part of me that feels like it's inappropriate to have any feelings for him cause he is my boss. But he's different."

"Different how?"

"He values me as a friend."

"Which Eric never did."

"He's nothing like Eric. At least I don't think he's anything like Eric. I barely know the guy though."

"So get to know him."

"I'm miles away from him."

"Well then I guess it's lucky you both have phones," she smiles at me.


	29. Tobias

**TOBIAS**

The boat has started to slow down since school will be starting soon. Currently there are about twelve people on the lower deck fishing.

My feet are up as I lean back in my chair. I can hear Zeke talking to someone from the open window. Marlene started working the galley once Tris left. She caught on quick, but Uriah has a little more trouble paying attention these days.

Mayhem snores on the bed behind me and I turn around to look at him. The dog's body is covered in scars and his docked ears make him look mean. People aren't sure about him when they first see him, but once they get to know him they like him. All of the regulars on the boat are used to seeing the dog in the wheelhouse.

I pull my phone out and go to Tris' name in the contacts. Next to the name is the picture of us with her first catch. I tap call and put the phone to my ear.

"Hello," her voice is quiet.

"Hey," I can't help but smile.

"Workin?"

"How'd you know?"

"I'm just a really good guesser."

"Apparently."

"Busy tonight?"

"It's pretty slow, but it's all regulars out tonight, so I can't complain."

"That's good."

"How's everything there?"

"Tiring, I think I just need to get out of the house a bit."

"Yeah?"

"I'm looking into getting a part time job, nothing major cause I still need to help at home."

"Where?"

"A gym."

"Doing?"

"Front desk stuff."

"Sounds fun."

"Not as much fun as the boat."

"Yeah?"

"I miss it," she sighs.

"We miss you out here."

"I miss you guys too."

"Mayhem is on the boat with me."

"He is?"

"Yeah, he's laying on the bed, snoring like crazy."

"He always snores," she chuckles lightly, "I think I miss him more than I miss you."

"Ouch, Bruiser."

"I'm serious, he's better than you."

"Eh, he is pretty cool."

"Hey, I'm gonna get some sleep. I'll talk to you later okay?"

"Okay, goodnight Tris."

"Goodnight Tobias."

She hangs up the phone and I look down at my phone for a second. My phone is the only form of contact I have with her these days. I try to not mention her mom too much, I don't want her to have to dwell on it. Tris avoids telling me about how she actually feels, but I know she isn't okay.

I haven't said anything about kissing her and she hasn't mentioned it at all either. We just ignore that it happened, but we are different with each other. Our relationship is more comfortable.

I get off of the chair and go onto the bed, Mayhem opens his eyes and crawls over to me. He puts his head in my lap and goes right back to sleep. There are footsteps on the deck near the door and I turn to see Zeke come into the wheelhouse.

"He's such a big baby," Zeke looks down at the dog.

"I know," I say and run my hand over his fur.

"We've almost hit limits."

"Really?"

"Yeah, just a few more fish and we'll have to call it quits for the night."

"Sounds good to me."

"Wanna hit up 2nd Street after we dock?"

"I've got the dog."

"Keep him in the bed of the truck and we'll go to a bar that we can sit outside at. Then the dog will be in the truck just a few feet away from us."

After the boat is docked and cleaned Uriah and Marlene leave and Zeke comes to 2nd Street with me. Just like he said we find a bar that we can sit outside at and I park the truck in front. Mayhem sits in the bed of my truck and watches people that pass him.

Zeke and I sit outside with our beers and I glance over at Mayhem every so often. It's a quiet night on the street, but it's a Thursday and not a Friday. A couple of girls walk by my truck and one stops to talk to Mayhem. He stays sitting in the middle of the bed and looks at the girls.

"He doesn't bite," I say to them. The shorter one of the two turns to me and gives me a small smile.

"You the owner?" she asks.

"Sometimes."

"How do you only own him sometimes?"

"He's got joint custody," Zeke smirks.

"Joint custody?" the girl giggles.

"He's got like four different owners," Zeke shrugs.

"You one of the owners?" the other girl asks Zeke.

"No."

"Shame, he's a good lookin' dog."

"Just like his one of four owners," the shorter girl gives me a coy smile.

"You ladies want a drink?" Zeke asks them.

"Sure," the one answers and they both go through the door and walk out to us.

"Zeke," Zeke says to the girls, "That's Four," he points to me.

"Amber," the taller of the girls says, "And this is my friend Anna."

"Nice to meet you guys," he says and the girls each take a seat.

The girls drink with us for about an hour. We all have a friendly conversation, but I can't help but notice that Anna tries to flirt with me. I don't flirt back, but I keep the conversation rolling.

"I've gotta hit the hay," Amber says and yawns.

"Nice meeting you guys," I say.

"You too," she smiles.

Before they leave Anna slides a napkin towards me. The girls leave and Zeke grabs the napkin. On it is Anna's name and number.

"I'm such a good wingman," Zeke smirks.

"I don't need a wingman."

"Come on, you've been single for too long."

"I don't mind being single."

"You still hung up on Tris?"

"I'm not hung up on anyone."

"You're lying."

"You think you know everything."

"That's because I do," he smirks and takes a sip of his beer.

"Alright."

"You talk to Tris lately?"

"I talked to her tonight."

"And?"

"And nothing."

"Uh huh."

"Shush, Zeke."

"Mkay, Four."

* * *

_I know I haven't updated in forever, I've been busy with school starting up again. This chapter isn't too long, but it is from Tobias' point of view. Thanks for all __of the reviews dolls._


	30. August

**TRIS**

I park the Caprice and walk into the gym. It's got a few people working out by themselves, but in the back someone is working with Lauren. Her body has changed since I last saw her. She was once just a thin girl but now she has toned muscles covering her body. Lauren sees me and waves me over to her.

"Hey, Beatrice," she says and gives me a quick hug.

"Hi Lauren."

"You're good to go," she says to the woman standing next to her.

"See you next week? Same time?"

"As always," Lauren smiles at her as she leaves, "So have you thought about taking the job?"

"How much would I be working?"

"For sure two days a week and then if you wanted more you could."

"What would I be doing?"

"Just running the front desk, but if you want to learn how to be a trainer I could teach you. I'll train you for an hour or two when you come in to run the front and once you're feeling confident you can start taking clients or instructing classes, whichever you decide."

"How much is the pay?"

"Max usually starts people at nine dollars an hour and then you can get raises from there, if you teach classes you get more and if you do one on one training it's even more money."

"How many hours is the average shift?"

"Four to six hours. I'm here about eight hours a day and then I take Tuesdays and Wednesdays off."

"So it's flexible?"

"Very flexible."

"You like working here?"

"I like it a lot more than I thought I would and honestly it's fun seeing how my body has changed since I started learning how to fight."

"My mom thinks it would be good for me to get a job."

"This is a job that you could turn into a career if you really want to."

"That's what she told me too."

"If you're interested you can come in on Friday and I'll teach you how to run the front desk. It's really simple, you just check people in and answer phones, sometimes you'll end up helping people sign up. And like I said if you wanna learn how to train people just let me know."

"I'll see you on Friday," I smile at her.

"Sounds like a plan," she grins back at me and I wave at her before I leave the building.

I'm not excited to start working, I rather spend all of my time at home with my mom, but I know if I keep doing that I'm going to spread myself too thin. Just running isn't enough time for myself. Maybe working and talking to other people a few times a week will be good for me, I'll just have to wait and find out.

I get into the house and Caleb is in the kitchen with my mom. She's sitting at the table with her head in her hands. My brother is rummaging through the cupboards, trying to find something for lunch I assume.

"Does anything sound good," he frowns at our mom.

"Not really," she tries to muster up a smile, "How was the gym?" she looks over at me.

"I'm going back on Friday to learn how to run the front desk."

"So you're going to work there?"

"Yeah, well at least I'm going to try it out."

"I think you'll like it," she smiles at me.

"I hope so," I say as I open up the freezer.

There aren't many options in the house and I realize that I'm going to need to go grocery shopping either today or tomorrow. In the back of the freezer is a box of popsicles and I grab it. There is only grape and rootbeer flavored ones left.

"What about a popsicle?" I ask her.

"The sugar in it might give you some energy," my brother turns to look at her from the pantry.

"What kind is there?"

"Rootbeer," I say and she sticks her tongue out like a child, "Or grape."

"I'll eat a grape one."

I take out a grape popsicle and go over to the table. She takes it from me and opens the wrapping. Caleb comes and sits at the table next to her and I sit across from them. My mom eats the popsicle slowly, but she seems to actually enjoy it instead of forcing it down to make us happy.

"What time is Joy coming?" Caleb asks her.

"She should be here any minute."

"So you're going to find something to do with your hair?"

"Hopefully."

The front door opens and there is a pitter patter of feet on the hardwood floor. Joy walks in the room after Keely, her five year old. Keely gives my mom a hug before climbing into my lap.

"Hi Keekee," I say as I wrap my arms around her.

"Hi, Beabea," she singsongs.

"How're you feeling babe?" Joy asks my mom.

"Better than I did two days ago."

"Well better is always good in my book," she smiles at my mom. "Hi kids," Joy says to Caleb and I.

"Hi," we say in unison and she tries to smile at us, but she knows that neither of us are happy.

My mother's cancer has taken a toll on everyone, but we try our hardest to not show our fear, especially in front of her. There is still a part of me that is hopeful and believes that my mom is going to pull through.

"I thought Keekee was supposed to be with Jenny today," Caleb says to Joy.

"Jenny forgot to tell me that she has a project due tomorrow, typical teenager. And KeeKee has decided that she doesn't like Landon anymore," she rolls her eyes, "So Keekee needed to come along with me."

"I can watch her," my brother offers.

"You don't have to."

"I want to, I think it'll be good for just you three to spend some time together and we get along right, Keely?" he pokes her in the ribs and she lets out a giggle.

"You wanna stay at auntie's and play with Caleb?" Joy asks the little girl on my lap and Keely nods her head furiously.

"You want to play with me?" Caleb says in mock shock.

"Only if you're nice," Keely gives him her signature crinkle nose smile.

"I'm always nice to you," he says as he stands up and takes her off of my lap, "Say bye to Bea, Mommy and Auntie."

"Bye bye, Mama. And Beabea and Auntie," she waves as he takes her out of the room and into the backyard.

"He's going to be so good when he has his own," Joy smiles down at my mom. My mom nods and her eyes get a bit misty, but she blinks it back.

I stand next to Joy in her small shop. My mother sits in the chair that is in Joy's station. The other station is rented out by Joy's niece. The small shop has its walls painted a robin's egg blue and there are leopard print accents everywhere. Joy stands behind my mom and takes the hat off of her head. Brown strands of hair fall to the floor as she does it and my mom stares at herself in the mirror.

"Not much to work with, huh?" my mom frowns.

"I didn't realize how much was falling out," Joy says as she runs a finger through the thin damaged hair.

We all stand in silence and my mom doesn't take her eyes off of her reflection. Her hair had once been something I was envious over. I wanted nothing more than to have long thick locks like hers, I even wished my hair was the same color brown as hers instead of my blonde.

"Shave it off," my mom's eyes glance to Joy's reflection.

"What?" Joy asks.

"Take it all off. I don't need it and it's going anyways. Why should I sit here and watch it all fall out? Just shave it all off and I won't have to deal with it anymore. Being bald is a part of chemo and I'm getting chemo, so I'm going to not have hair anymore."

"You're sure, Nat?"

"I'm positive. I mean look at it. It's so thin and brittle, it's not pretty. It's not the long mane I used to have, it's not a fraction of what it was. I don't need it and maybe I'll like not having to deal with my hair anymore."

"I can try to figure something out Natalie, you don't have to just shave it all off."

"I'm fine with it, really. I'm fighting a disease and my hair is the last thing I'm concerned with."

"You're positive Mom," I swallow the hard lump in my throat.

"I'm positive, it's just hair Beatrice. My hair isn't what makes me beautiful or strong, it's just hair."

"But you've always had long hair."

"I know and now I'm not going to have any. Having long hair just means that you've taken the time to grow it out, it has no other value than that. Hair doesn't measure your value, your beauty, or your worth."

"But I feel like long hair is more feminine and it accentuates your body when it's down," I bite my bottom lip.

"You're the one who is deciding that long hair is feminine. Having hair or not having hair doesn't make me any less of a woman," she smiles at me, "Get out the clippers Joy."

Joy grabs the clippers and turns them on. The room is filled with a buzzing noise and she brings them to my mom's head. Slowly the ground begins to get covered with what was at one point her long hair. I watch in the mirror as her hair begins disappearing from her reflection.

I tug on the ends of my own hair, it's just hair. Nothing else. My hair isn't what makes me who I am. I've always kept my hair long cause my mother's was long. I look over in the mirror and see that her hair is almost all gone, but she looks the same. Her green eyes still have their signature sparkle and she is still as beautiful to me as she's always been. Now she looks like a person fighting cancer, not someone who is trying to hold onto the past, but a person who is fighting for a future.

My own hair is longer than my mother's has ever grown. I've only ever had her trim it. I run my fingers through the hair as I think about all of the people who have lost their hair. Who have been forced to let go of something that they might feel makes them beautiful. My hair could make someone feel beautiful again, but cutting it won't make me any less attractive.

I tie my hair into a low ponytail at the nape of my neck and go to grab a pair of Joy's scissors from the counter. My mother looks over at me and I bring the scissors to my ponytail and slowly start cutting it off. It doesn't take long for me to be holding the hair in my hand still tied together by the band. I look in the mirror and see that the bob now frames my face, I look different but I still look like me. I'm the same person I was a few minutes ago.

"Will you straighten it out?" I ask my mom.

She nods and I hand her the scissors. I crouch in front of her as she trims my now short hair. Little pieces fall onto the floor and I look at the ponytail in my hands.

"Face me," she says and I turn to her.

She grabs some of the pieces in the front and trims them shorter than the rest. When she's done I can see a few of the short pieces on the sides of my face in my peripheral vision. I stand up and look in the mirror. My mom added some layers into the bob and the pieces framing my face look nice.

"I like it," Joy smiles at me.

"Me too," I say.

"You're perfect," my mom whispers to me.

"So are you," I say back to her.

"Now what are we going to do with all of that lovely hair in your hand?" Joy asks.

"Donate it," I smile.

I follow my mom and Joy into a wig shop and look around the room. There is hair from the ceiling to the floor. Joy suggested my mom try on a few wigs, just in case she decides that she wants to have hair for certain occasions. We find my mom a chair in front of a mirror and help her sit down.

Joy and I look around the shop at all of the different hair. I find one that is the similar to what my mom's natural hair color is and grab it. It's not long, but it'll brush her shoulders. Joy grabs one in a similar color that is more of a shag cut. We bring back both wigs to my mom who willingly tries them on.

The one I picked out looks boring on her and I tell her she shouldn't get it. Joy's looks nice on my mom, it brings out her bone structure.

I wander through the store some more and find a wig of long straight red hair with bangs. Smirking I grab the wig and bring it back to my mom who instantly puts it on.

"I could be a stripper with hair like this," she puckers her lips.

"You should wear that tonight when Andrew gets home," Joy snickers.

"Could you imagine Daddy's reaction, Beatrice?" my mother grins at me.

"He probably wouldn't even recognize you."

"This color really makes my eyes pop."

"It's kind of creepy," Joy laughs.

"I agree," my mom laughs with her.

"Do you want to keep looking at them?" I ask.

"Might as well, it's kind of fun," my mom says as she fixes the red bangs that hang into her eyes.

We find a large beehive wig and my mom willingly puts it on. I'm not sure how long we spend in the store just putting different wigs on her, but we all actually enjoy ourselves. For the first time since I've been home I am able to forget that my mom is slowly dying. In this moment she's just having fun trying out new looks.

"Look at this one," Joy says as she walks over with a short blonde bob, "It kind of looks like Bea's hair."

"It's almost the same color," I say.

"Give it to me," my mom reaches for the wig and places it on her head.

The blonde hair brings out her green eyes and her skin doesn't look at pale with the lighter hair. I go and stand next to her, we don't look much alike besides a few features like our lips and eye shape.

"You are your father's daughter," she says as she plays with the wig.

"Hasn't she always been?" Joy asks.

"Since the day she was born I knew she'd always look more like Andrew."

"Are you telling me that I look like a boy," I frown at her.

"No," she laughs, "I'm telling you that you have more of your dad's features than mine."

"Is that a bad thing?" I playfully glare at her.

"Of course not, if I didn't want my children to look like your dad then I wouldn't have had kids with him. I wanted you and Caleb to look like him."

"So you wanted a girl that looked like dad?"

"I didn't want a girl that looks like a boy," she giggles, "I wanted a girl that has his features and that's exactly what I got. A lovely girl who looks more like her daddy."

"Caleb looks more like you," Joy states.

"I agree," I say.

She decides on the wig that Joy first picked out, so we buy it and head back home. The minute we're through the doors we're greeted by my brother who is whispering and telling us that Keely just fell asleep for a nap.

He takes a look at our mom and frowns just a tiny bit. She gives him a hug and whispers something to him. When he pulls away from their embrace he nods at her with a smile.

The four of us sit at the table while Keely sleeps, making sure to keep our voices soft. Caleb tells us about his day with her and how all she wanted to do was play tag the whole time. He finally wore her out though and the minute she sat on the couch to watch a cartoon she fell asleep.

"I talked to Susan today," he says.

"About what?" my mom asks.

"The wedding. We decided that we just want to have a really small ceremony in her backyard. Just immediate family, no friends and we want to do it in two weeks."

"You want to get married in two weeks?" I ask.

"Yeah, we already found a place that we can rent and it's only a couple streets from here so I can come here whenever I need to and we're getting married regardless, so who cares if it's sooner then we planned on?"

"You're sure you want to get married that fast?" my mom reaches across the table for his hand.

"I'm positive."

"Don't rush into a small wedding if it's not what you want."

"All I want is for Susan to be a Prior and for you to see it happen," he sighs.

"Okay, baby," my mom's voice shakes.

"So what do we need to do to make it happen?" I ask.

"We already have it all. You'll come right, Joy?"

"Wouldn't miss it for the world," she tries her hardest to give him a smile, but I can see her eyes well with tears.

"No crying," my mom laughs, trying to hold back her own tears, "We're supposed to be happy. Caleb is going to be a husband."

"I am happy," Joy whispers and smiles while a single tear runs down her cheek.

"Me too," my mom wipes her own tears.

Caleb gets up from his chair to hug my mom and Joy just looks over at me with a knowing look. This isn't fair, my brother shouldn't have to make his wedding so last minute. He's supposed to be able to have everything planned out, give Susan the wedding she's always wanted. Instead she's giving him a wedding that his mom can go to. My mom is supposed to grow old with my dad. She's supposed to see her kids get married and she's supposed to see Caleb be a dad to his own babies.

Instead we're all scrambling to make sure she gets to see as much of everything as possible. We're all trying to forget about the emotional load we're all carrying so that we can make her days better. We don't have enough time to sort through anything right now.

* * *

_Okay, so since the last chapter was short and I made you all wait forever for the last chapter I decided to give you another one. I promise there will be more Fourtris, swear. _

_I'm going to try to update again sometime this week, but I can't make any promises. My little brother just finished writing his novel and I told him I'd edit it, wish me luck. _

_As always thanks for all of the reviews and love, you guys are awesome!_

_messirox123: Don't worry you're patience will pay off!_

raspberrypenguin: I promise they'll see each other! You're so sweet, doll!


	31. Boxing

Caleb's wedding is only a couple days away and my mom hasn't been getting any better. She is on a plateau right now, but I know that after her next treatment she'll be worse again. Her body reacts horribly to the chemo.

All of my parent's friends have started to help out as much as they can. One of them even put together a sheet for our family, telling us when someone is going to bring over dinner. Personally I rather make dinner instead of have other people constantly bringing us food.

It seems like every time someone stops by with dinner they bring flowers too. Cancer smells like lilies and our kitchen has started to smell like cancer.

I've already completed my front desk training and decided to go along with becoming a trainer. I go into the gym for my first session of training with Lauren; she's going to teach me the basics of boxing. From boxing I'll learn a bit about kickboxing, but at the moment just regular boxing is the focus.

She grins at me when she sees me and waves me over to the back of the gym where the bags are.

"Hey, Beatrice," she says to me.

"Hey."

"So I'm just going to go over the basics with you today."

"Sounds good."

"First of all don't listen to anyone who's never boxed before, some people are under the impression that boxing isn't hard or real fighting because you only use your hands. They're wrong. Boxing is tough and here we train tough. To be a good boxer means you need to have good boxing skills so we try to get clients in here to practice about two times a week minimum. It's a good workout and you want to make sure to always push them. Most people get a trainer because they aren't good at creating their own routines or pushing themselves, that's where we come in."

"What does a basic workout look like?"

"I usually have my clients start out with jumping rope because it's a great way to warm up. I try to keep it to about seven minutes with each client. From there I have them go through a stretching routine, I don't want them to pull anything while they're working out."

"Just put me through the routine," I say.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, what better way to learn than to do it myself?"

"Alright, I'll go get a jump rope."

She comes back and hands me the rope. I start jumping, it isn't a hard task but I can feel it raise my heart rate, which is what she's going for. By the time my seven minutes is up my body is warm and I start stretching. Lauren shows me a few stretches I wasn't aware of.

"Okay from here I'm going to have you go through a few rounds using the focus mitts. I'm going to wear the mitts and you're going to practice some punches."

"I don't really know how to punch."

"Alright," she laughs, "So let's teach you how to punch."

She hands me a pair of gloves and puts me in the right stance. Lauren makes sure that I keep my elbows in and my hands up. I raise my chin and she puts it back down.

"You never want to stand still when you're boxing, always be moving. When you face a right-handed opponent you want to always be moving to your right and if they're a lefty you move to your left."

"Why?"

"It keeps a greater distance from they're more powerful hand. Also never cross step. From here I'm going to have you try punching the heavy bag."

I throw a punch and Lauren shakes her head at me. She puts on a pair of gloves herself to show me how to punch. I learn all of the different punches and by the time I finish the session with Lauren my body is dripping with sweat.

My body aches as I shower but my sore muscles make me proud. I've decided to start training with Lauren a few times a week on top of learning how to be a trainer myself. Punching the heavy bag helped me deal with some of the emotions that I've currently been avoiding. I'm allowed to be angry in the gym. Angry that my mother isn't going to make it past this year.

I change into a pair of sweatpants and tank top after my shower. My mom is on the couch reading a pamphlet from the doctor on some of the side effects of chemotherapy. I've read through the same pamphlet numerous times, still trying to believe that she's poisoning her body in order to live longer.

She scoots over on the couch and I sit next to her. My mom wraps her arm around my shoulder and puts her pamphlet down.

"How was training?"

"I liked it. I mean it was hard, but I liked it."

"You going to learn how to be a trainer?"

"Yeah, I'm kind of excited about it."

"Why?"

"Cause learning to the punch made me feel strong."

"You are strong, Beatrice."

"Emotionally maybe, but not physically. It made me feel physically strong."

We stop talking and sit in silence for a couple of minutes. My mom hums to herself as she reads some more of the pamphlet. She plays with my hair as she does it. Once she finishes the pamphlet she moves my tank top strap and looks at my tattoo.

"You know I should've gotten mine there," she says to me as she runs a hand over my skin.

"What?"

"I have a tattoo too," she smirks, "I got it when I was sixteen though."

"How have I never seen it?"

"I hide it from you."

"I want to see it."

"Okay," she says as she lifts up her shirt. Under her armpit is black ink. I stare at the feather for a few minutes.

"Why the feather?"

"I got it when I left my parents behind."

"You left your parents?"

"There are a lot of things that you kids don't know about me."

"Why?"

"Cause I didn't want you guys to look at me differently. Why the ravens?"

"For you, Caleb and Dad. That's why they're flying towards my heart. I want to get more. Will you go with me?"

"We'll go tomorrow when Dad is at work," she grins.

"Really?"

"Sure, why not?"

My mom has a scarf around her head as we enter the tattoo shop. Tattoo flash covers all of the walls and a short guy who is covered in ink greets me. He asks me what I'm looking to get and I describe the two top symbols that Tobias has on his back. I sit next to my mother as the artist draws them up.

When he's done he shows us the designs. They're slightly different from the ones Tobias has and I smile at them.

"They're perfect," I say.

"Where were you looking to get them?"

"One on each shoulder."

"Is this size okay?"

"Yeah, I like them."

"Okay, I'm going to get set up and then you two can head back and we'll get to work," he says as he leaves us.

Not ten minutes later we're called behind the counter. He leads me to his station and has me lay on my stomach on the table. After he shaves both of my shoulders he places the stencils on them and has me check them out. My mom says they look perfect and I agree with her. I lay back down and hear the buzzing noise of the tattoo gun.

My mom holds my hand as I get the tattoo. Some of the areas are more sensitive then others. I squeeze my eyes shut tightly when he's right on my shoulder blade and my mom gives my hand a reassuring squeeze.

"How come the hands?" my mom asks, trying to keep my mind off of the needle in my skin.

"To symbolize selflessness. A visual reminder that I need to put other people in front of myself. So I can remember to take care of others."

"The fire?"

"Bravery and courage. I can't let fears hold me back from things. Being prepared for fear makes it easier to handle," I take in a sharp breath.

"Are you afraid, Bea?"

"Of what?"

"What's happening?"

"Yes," I whisper.

"Me too," she says back to me.

We leave the tattoo parlor silently. I open the passenger door of the Caprice and let my mom in. It's odd to be the one driving her car while she sits next to me.

"Why'd you leave your parents?" I ask my mom.

"They weren't good people."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean my mother and father fought a lot and not just yelling. They would get rough with each other and one night it went too far. I couldn't take it anymore, so I left. I packed my stuff that night and went away."

"Where did you go?"

"I stayed with Joy mostly, her parents took me in and they showed me what a family is supposed to look like. Her parents were what I strived for. Her dad never laid a hand on her mom and he was always so easy to talk to."

"They didn't even ask questions about why you left?"

"I think Joy told them a little bit of what had happened but they never brought it up to me."

"Did your parents ever look for you?"

"Not at all, I honestly don't think they ever wanted me. My mom had me when she was just fifteen and I'm pretty sure she married my dad cause that's what you did back then."

"Did you ever see them again?"

"I saw my dad once, but it was years down the road. I was pregnant with Caleb. He didn't recognize me, so I acted like I didn't know him."

"Dad never met them?"

"He had no desire to meet them."

"None at all?"

"None. He told me once that he wanted nothing to do with them after how they made me grow up and he promised that he'd never do that if we had kids."

"And he didn't. Mom, who was the first person you ever loved?"

"Dad," she smiles.

"Really?"

"Really. I didn't have any desire to go out with guys or talk to them, and Dad was just a good friend that became more."

"How come you and Dad were never very affectionate when Caleb and I were little? I feel like I've never seen you guys the way you are now."

"We just never felt the need to be affectionate in front of other people, but now I think things have changed cause we don't know how much time we have left together."

I have nothing to say after hearing her say that. I want to say something but there isn't anything to say. Nothing I say could possibly make this situation better.

A part of me doesn't want to believe that her cancer is real. If we all ignore it then it can't be happening. I try my hardest not to talk about it at all, so then no one will have to know how afraid I actually am.

I'm laying on my bed at home when my phone rings. It's early in the morning and everyone is already sleeping here. Which means the caller is most likely just getting off of work.

"Hello," I whisper into my phone, not bothering to look at the caller ID.

"Hey, Tris," his voice is low and safe.

"Hey," I grin.

"What are you up to?"

"Staring at my ceiling. Everyone is already sleeping."

"How come you're not sleeping?"

"I can't sleep. How was work?"

"Fine."

"Only fine?"

"No one could catch a damn thing," he huffs.

"Good thing there is always tomorrow night."

"Let's hope I can find fish that bite tomorrow night."

"You will."

"How do you know that?"

"I just do."

"How's everything going there?"

"It's alright. Caleb is getting married the day after tomorrow, so my mom is pretty excited about it."

"I would assume so."

"It'll be a small wedding."

"How're you?"

"Fine."

"You're lying."

"I'm fine, honestly. I'm just moving forward. Gotta keep myself from sinking."

"You know moving forward doesn't mean you're supposed to make yourself numb to what's going on."

"I'm not. I'm fine," I say a little louder.

"Why are you lying?"

"Tobias, I'm serious, I'm fine. Okay? Stop asking."

"I'm just trying to help Tris."

"Well you're not. You're being pushy," I spit.

"Kay. I'm home. Later Tris."

"Bye," I hang up the phone.

I'm fine, honestly. I've accepted that my mother is dying right in front of my eyes. I know that nothing is going to get better. Things are just going to get harder and when she's gone things will be worse. My dad won't know what to do and neither will Caleb or I. It's easier to put up a wall instead of let other people into my pain.

They don't need to know what I'm going through. They can't do anything about it. No one can change what's happening and saying it'll be okay doesn't help. It makes things worse, because it's not going to be okay. My mom is going to wither away till there is nothing left of her.

Tobias usually doesn't ask about me and I'm thankful for that. He's supposed to help me forget about how much I hurt inside, not sit there and try to open up the bottle of emotions that are deep inside of me. They're there so they can't hurt me. Him asking about them makes them real. I don't want them to be real.

* * *

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	32. The Wedding

I sit next to my dad in Susan's backyard. Caleb stands in front of the small rows of chairs. There are only immediate family members of each of them here. Joy sits behind us with her husband Brad. Keely is on Brad's lap and Jenny sits next to Landon. The three kids look nice in their clothing. My mom sits near the little isle, a wig on her head and eyebrows drawn on.

It's almost like she isn't sick, but under the make up I can still see the dark circles under her eyes. Her shoulders poke out from her dress and her pale skin glows in the sun. She keeps her eyes on my brother in his black suit.

Someone puts on soft music and we all stand up to take a look at Susan. My dad helps my mom stand up and Susan walks outside from the house. She is holding onto her dad's arm. Her dress is simple and white; everything about the wedding is simple.

My mom swipes at her eyes when Susan gets up to Caleb. Susan's eyes don't leave my brother and he can't seem to keep his eyes off of her either. The ceremony is short and sweet and the happy couple has the family take some pictures.

Caleb takes one picture with just my mom and I feel a pang of jealousy. My mom won't get to see me get married, if I ever get married that is. She is going to miss so many things in my life and there isn't anything I can do about it.

We all eat a light lunch and then Susan dances with her father. Caleb sits next to my mom, he is beaming. The girl he's been in love with since he was a kid is now his wife. Once they finish their dance Caleb pulls my mother up from her seat and dances with her.

She looks frail next to her tall son. They used to share the same hair color, but now her wig is slightly different from his hair color. He still has her dimpled cheeks and green eyes though. As they dance my stomach begins to feel queasy. Today is supposed to be a day of happiness and I feel like there is a dark cloud above my head.

The sun still rises every day and sets every night. My brother is now a husband and he moved out. His life is moving forward still, but mine is stuck frozen in cancer.

They finish dancing and I get up from my seat. I almost run out of the backyard and to the Caprice. I climb onto the hood of the car and tuck my legs under me, my hands rest in my lap.

I can feel my heart break in two and tears quickly slip out from my eyes. For once I don't try to wipe them away, instead I let them run down my cheeks. The tears drip off of my chin and into my folded hands.

My free time has been spent researching cancer and the effects of the treatments my mom is getting. What I imagined was going to happen was worse then what's actually going on, but not by much. I play with the necklace around my neck. I'm not going to sink.

"Beatrice," my father calls for me.

When his eyes fall on me he frowns and walks over to me. Without saying anything he sits on the car next to me. He has never been the talkative type and I think that's where I get it from.

"I'm sorry, baby," he mumbles.

I look over at him through my wet eyes and he is still frowning. His eyes are focused on the street in front of us.

"Me too," I shiver, trying to hold my sadness inside of me.

"It wasn't supposed to happen this way," he squeezes his eyes shut.

"I know," my breathing is becoming more labored.

"She was supposed to see you guys grow up."

"I am grown up."

"You've been grow up for such a long time now," he wraps an arm around my shoulder and I lean into him.

"I wish I wasn't."

"Me too. I wanted you to stay little forever. Since the day I first held you, I wanted you to always be my sweet baby girl. But now you're so much more."

"I am?"

"You are becoming a very independent woman and you're figuring yourself out. You're deciding what matters to you."

"I'm sorry I left home."

"Don't be sorry about that. You needed to leave, I understand that. You weren't happy here and for some reason Eric was the one that made you happy. Even though I never liked him I think you did what was right by you when you left and I can't be upset about that."

"Okay," I blink a few times to get the remaining moisture out of my eyes.

"Your mom is waiting for us in that backyard. She wants to celebrate cause your brother is a married man now."

"I know."

"So how about we go back in there and celebrate with her. We'll go into that stupid photo booth and take horrible pictures to put on the fridge."

"Promise?" I laugh.

"Promise," he grins as he hops off of the car and puts a hand out for me.

I take his hand and he leads me back into the reception. My mom is sitting at a table with Caleb and Susan, her smile is huge and I can't help but be happy when I see her this happy.

My dad grabs her and my brother and I grab Susan. The five of us go towards the photo booth and grab every prop that we can find. My mom wraps a pink feather boa around my dad's neck and Caleb puts a pair of oversized glasses on my mom. We all laugh as we go through all of the props together, deciding who is going to wear what. The pictures only take a few minutes to print and I look them over. The first one has Caleb kissing Susan in the middle of everyone, I'm sticking my tongue out in disgust and my parents are covering each other's eyes. In the second one Susan is kissing me on the cheek While Caleb stands in-between our parents, who are both kissing him. The second to last one has all of us smiling; we look like one big happy family. In the last photo Susan and Caleb have me sandwiched in-between them while my parents kiss each other next to us.

The night ends on a high note and for a minute I forget that things are going to get harder in the next few months. I let myself enjoy today.

* * *

_As always, you guys are the best! Thanks for all of the sweet reviews :)_

_I know this chapter is short, but hey at least I posted another chapter, right?_


	33. Training

"Come on, Tessa, thirty more seconds," I say to the girl who is jumping rope.

She keeps jumping and her breathing is hard. Tessa was my first client and I've yet to teach her how to box. We've just been working on her cardio and strength training. After just a week she's gotten better than I ever expected her to be. She can run a full mile now without stopping.

"Time," I say and she stops.

She is panting as she sips at her water. I lead her over to the free weights where I'm going to have her work on her shoulders and arms.

Our session ends at exactly an hour and she leaves with a smile. She makes another session for tomorrow and I can't help but feel accomplished. I haven't been working with her for more than two weeks and I can already see the changes in her body. Her stamina has come up and she is starting to enjoy her workouts.

I wait for Lauren to finish with her last client so we can lock up and leave. While I wait I go head to the bathroom to shower. I dry my short hair off and it falls into its natural part. My pants barely slide onto my legs and I realize that I'm going to need to go shopping for new clothing. Since training with Lauren my body has changed. My once almost curvy body has practically no curves. Working out has robbed me of the softness that my body once had, but I don't mind.

Now when I look at myself I see toned muscles instead of a body of a twelve year old. A twelve year old wouldn't have legs that are thick with muscle from all of the running and weights I do. I turn around in the mirror and look at the tattoos on my shoulders; they look nice on my skin. The only thing I don't like about my new physique is that the constant working out has robbed me of the small chest I had. In my sports bra I look like I'm almost flat chested. But on the other hand my stomach is flat and my once not even there butt has lifted and gotten a bit bigger.

Lauren finishes with her session and we start to turn all of the lights off in the gym. We say our goodbyes once she locks up and we part ways.

I pull up to my house and see an unfamiliar car in our driveway, it's a black Mercedes Benz and probably costs more than I make in a year. When I get into the house I can hear my father's voice as well as a voice of another man. I walk into the kitchen and see my dad at the table with a man who looks to be only a few years older than him. Papers are all over the table and I assume that the man is a coworker of my father. I walk into the kitchen to get a glass of water and am about to head out when my father stops me.

"Beatrice, this is my boss, Marcus," he says to me.

"Nice to meet you," I stick my hand out towards the man and he shakes my hand.

"Pleasure is all mine," he smiles at me "Quite a handshake your girl has," he says as he looks over to my dad.

"Thank you," I say and my dad smirks at me.

"How was work?" my dad asks me.

"Fine," I answer and glace over at the man next to him again.

"We needed to work on a project and I didn't want to leave Mom alone, so Marcus suggested we just come here."

"Oh, well I'm here now so if you two need to you can go back to the office."

"We're just finishing up," Marcus says to me and I notice his dark blue eyes.

"Are you okay, Beatrice?" my dad asks and I shake my head once I realize that I was staring at Marcus.

"Uh, yeah. Sorry. I'm just tired from work."

"Where do you work?" Marcus asks me.

"The boxing gym a block over."

"Front desk?"

"Front desk and trainer."

"Sounds like you've got one tough kid," he says to my dad.

"She definitely is. I've never got to worry about the boys with her, she can take care of herself."

"I would think so," Marcus chuckles.

"Well I'm going to head to bed, I'm beat and I've got a session with Lauren at six in the morning. We're doing all cardio," I pull up my nose.

"Nice to meet you Beatrice."

"You too, Marcus."

I lay in my bed and am almost asleep when I hear my phone get a text message. Lazily I reach over for my phone and groan at the tightness in my shoulders. It's a text from Tobias and a part of me doesn't want to open it. Sometimes he doesn't ask about how I'm feeling and that's what I prefer, cause then he becomes as escape from everything here. But then there are other times when he just tries to get me to talk to him and I don't want to because then I can't escape from anything.

I open up the text message and see a picture of Mayhem in my bed. His big two-toned eyes look sad as he lies on his side of the bed. "Aww," I whisper as I look at the picture. My phone starts ringing and I answer it, already knowing that it's going to be Tobias.

"Hey," I say.

"I think he misses you," he says, "He won't leave your bed."

"He won't?" I frown.

"No, Uriah called me the other night cause he was whimpering at your door once I left."

"Aw, that makes me sad."

"Christina thinks that I should take him to my house, she says that even though she wanted him he's more your dog than anything. And since you left he hasn't left my side."

"Do you have time for him?"

"He'll be alone when I'm at work and whenever my mom is gone, but everyone is starting to feel bad for him. He just whimpers and wants to lay in your bed all the time."

"If you think he's better off with you and everyone else agrees then you should take him."

"You're positive?"

"Yes."

"By the time you come back he's not even going to want you anymore."

"Oh and what makes you think that?"

"Cause I'm better than you and he's going to realize that."

"You're an idiot," I laugh.

"How's everything?"

"Alright. My mom had another treatment today so I know that she's going to be feeling like crap tomorrow."

"How's Caleb?"

"He's doing good, happy as a clam with Susan."

"That's good."

"Yeah, it's nice to see him enjoy something."

"Are you enjoying anything?"

"Work."

"We all miss you back here."

"I miss you guys too."

"Twilight is almost done for the season."

"Really?"

"Yeah the fishing is slowing down and it's October. Usually twilight season doesn't go past September."

"What are you going to do once the season ends?"

"Harrison and I are going to split the day shifts."

"That'll be good," I yawn.

"Get some sleep, Tris."

"You too."

"Good night."

"Good night."

Almost immediately after hanging up with Tobias my phone rings again. I look at the caller ID this time and see Christina's name.

"Hey Chris," I answer.

"Hey Tris."

"How're you?"

"I'm kinda worried actually and you're the only one I could think of to call."

"What's going on?"

"My period is late, I mean it's never been regular but since I've been dating Will I'm worried."

"How late are you?"

"A week."

"What's the latest it's ever been?"

"About a month."

"Okay, so it's possible that you're just late. Nothing more. Just don't stress out, if you do you might delay it even more."

"What if I'm pregnant?"

"You deal with that if you find out that you are. I think you should just be careful for the next few weeks. Take a test if you're more than three weeks late."

"Okay," she sighs.

"You'll be okay, alright?"

"I know."

"At this moment you aren't pregnant, just late."

"I know."

"So take a breather, get some sleep and keep me updated, okay?"

"Okay."

"I love you."

"Love you too."

"Goodnight Chris."

"Night, Tris."

I get back from my session with Lauren and I'm a sweaty mess. My dad says goodbye to me and I head to the bathroom to shower. One I finish showering I throw on a pair of yoga pants and a tank top. My mom is still sleeping so I go to the kitchen to make some breakfast.

Once I've finished my smoothie I hear her get up and go into the bathroom. I can hear her retching from behind the closed door and I know that today is going to be a long day. She eventually comes out from the bathroom and gives me a melancholy smile.

"How're you feeling?"

"Like I'm pregnant," she chuckles.

"You had morning sickness when you were pregnant?"

"The worst morning sickness of my life. My doctor had to put me on a prescription just so I could keep some food down."

I help her back to her room and crawl on top of the bed next to her. I feel like every passing day she looks worse. Her face has become puffy from the chemo and she doesn't look like herself anymore.

"What were your pregnancies like?" I ask, curious about how she felt.

"Miserable. From my first few weeks of pregnancy till almost my third trimester I was sick as a dog. I couldn't hide my pregnancies from your father, it was obvious that I had morning sickness."

"Why would you try to hide it?"

"I got pregnant with Caleb pretty soon after we got married and we weren't exactly ready for a baby. Then right after he was born I got pregnant with you. You don't want to tell your husband that you're pregnant again once you've just figured out your infants schedule."

"What'd he do?"

"He was actually pretty calm about it. I however wasn't," she laughs, "But then I just figured that it was meant to happen and honestly I'm glad that you and Caleb are so close in age."

"Why?"

"You two fought like cats and dogs when you were younger, but as you guys got older you became the best of friends, I wouldn't change that ever. I like that you guys have each other. I never had a sibling and I wish I did. I think kids need siblings."

"Do you think Caleb and Susan will have kids early on?"

"If they do it won't be a planned thing," she yawns.

"Tired?"

"A little bit."

"You get some sleep. Dad should be home soonish and then I've got a session with Edward."

"The kid who is good at boxing?"

"He's a natural."

"Okay, well I'm going to get some sleep," her eyes are already closed.

I tidy up the house while I wait for my dad to get home. There isn't much to clean, my father has always been a neat freak and the house is always looking its best. Which I'm sure he likes when Marcus ends up here. No one wants to take their boss to a messy house. No more than two hours pass and my dad comes into the house with Marcus.

"Nice to see you again, Beatrice," Marcus smiles at me.

"Same to you," I say feeling like I recognize him from somewhere else. His blue eyes look too familiar for comfort.

"Going to work?" my dad asks.

"Yeah, I've got one client coming in and then I'm running the front desk till close."

"Okay, honey. I'll probably be asleep by the time you get home."

"Alright, I'll make sure to be quiet."

"You're always quiet."

"As a mouse," I say as I leave the house.

The gym is slow considering most people are working right now. Lauren greets me before she goes off to teach a small class. I go into the locker room to change into a pair of leggings, sports bra and a tank top. By the time I come out Edward is waiting for me by the ring.

He already has his gloves on and is talking to Max. Max agrees to spar with him and I watch from the sidelines. Edward has taken to boxing quite easily and it's obvious that he excels at it. I feel like I don't have the ability to teach him anything new considering I'm not that great at it yet. He says that he likes the general workouts I put him through, so he keeps on coming to me. The two finish and I get Edward doing some cardio.

"Same time next week?" I ask as we finish up his session.

"I was actually hoping that we could do it earlier next week. My cousin is going to be in town."

"That's fine, I don't have anyone except you that day. So whatever works for you."

"Nine in the morning okay?"

"I'll see you then."

"Later, Prior," he waves at me before leaving.

I'm not sure when everyone started referring to me as Prior, but that's what I go by now at the gym. Max was the one who started it and everyone has picked it up.

My shift ends rather quickly and I'm home only ten minutes after closing. I tip toe into my house and crawl into my bed. Before I fall asleep I check my phone to see if I have a text from Christina. In my text message is a picture of a pregnancy test and there are two pink lines. I'm shocked that she took a test so quickly, but then again if I were her I'd want to know too. My fingers can't seem to call her fast enough.

"Hello," she says.

"Are you serious?"

"I wish I wasn't," I can hear the absence in her voice, knowing that her mind is elsewhere.

"What are you going to do? Have you told Will?"

"I'm going to keep it, I mean I want to. I told him. He was here when I took the test."

"He was?"

"Yeah, I cried my eyes out," she sighs.

"It's understandable."

"So I'm going to work until I can't anymore. I mean I haven't gotten sick at all, so hopefully I'm not going to start getting seasick."

"Does anyone else know?"

"Not yet, but I'm going to tell them soon. I don't want them not to know, I just wish it wasn't happening."

"You'll be okay."

"I know, I just feel like I start dating Will and a few months into it I end up with a bun in the oven. Freaking bull shit."

"It'll work out," I chuckle.

"I know. Hey I'm gonna get some sleep. I'm already worn out from this kid and it's tiny as can be."

"Goodnight Chris."

"Night Tris."

* * *

_You guys are seriously the best! Your reviews make my day, really._

_I finished editing my brother's novel, so I've got some more time to write again :) he made a character based on me and it's a demon, should I be offended? Haha._

_Exciting stuff is going to happen in this story, soon. I promise!_

_Oh, and you guys that sent me your tumblrs… you seriously all have wonderful blogs._


	34. The Caprice

My mom sits on the couch as I get ready for work. I run back and forth making sure that I have everything I need. When I finally look at the clock I realize that I'm ahead of schedule. The couch looks comfortable and I crawl onto it, next to my mom.

It seems like she isn't eating at all anymore. She can't get up on her own anymore and needs someone with her at all times. Every treatment seems to take more out of her than the last. Her face has become more swollen, hiding her once striking bone structure, but still showing her emerald green eyes. Bones poke out from her skin in every direction and her body seems to be disappearing in front of my eyes.

Even through all of this she is still my easygoing mother. The same woman who can cheer me up no matter what. She keeps herself positive even though we all know she's going down hill and fast.

"You know I was thinking," her voice is soft.

"About?"

"The Caprice."

"What about it?"

"I want you to have it."

"What do you mean?"

"We both know I'm not going to be here," she pauses and swallows hard. I don't want her to finish the sentence.

"What about the Caprice?" I feel my chest start to cave in.

"I think that you should have it."

"Why?" my eyes burn and hers are wet.

"Because I want you to have it. You're my only girl and I just feel like it's supposed to be yours."

"What about Caleb?"

"He loves that car, but not as much as you and honestly I trust you with it more," she bites her lip and gives me a doleful grin.

"Why me?" I whisper.

"You know how I ended up with that car?"

"No."

"When I left home I took everything I had and I didn't have much. I scrounged up as money as I could and I ended up with a piece of junk Caprice. It was a rust bucket, but it was my rust bucket. Joy's dad, he helped me fix her. It took us years but I finally had it to where I wanted, excluding the paint job. I always wanted it to be cherry red, but I ended up with babies instead," she chuckles but I know she is just trying to keep herself from crying. "That car was the only thing I had and it was everything to me. It doesn't belong here in Chicago. I've been to California before and I know how many amazing cars cruise down by the beach, you could put her in shows, win some trophies. I want you to have it. Drive it everywhere and when you get married don't let your husband drive it, make sure he knows that it's your car, cause I promise he'll be jealous of it. Dad wanted to drive that Caprice all the time and I only let him on occasions. It's too much fun to drive."

"It is fun to drive," I smile.

"And when you have babies, put their car seats in the back seat and drive around till they fall asleep. Play classic rock music so they grow up loving it, hell even let them listen to some country. Just so they don't think their grandpa is lame and doesn't know good music like their grandma did," she wipes away a tear.

"Mommy," I whisper and feel my bottom lip tremble.

"And tell them about me, okay? Tell them about how much I would've loved them and let them know that they're perfect. That they're just like their mom and that I never for a moment didn't think their mom was one of the best things I've ever gotten."

"Stop," I choke out and scoot closer to her.

"I just wish I could be there to see it all," she holds me close to her.

"Me too," I try to keep my breathing even and she starts to hum Simple Man.

Simple Man started as a lullaby for Caleb, cause he was her little boy. But when I came along is quickly became mine as well. The song helps calm me down.

I look down at her hands. The hands that picked me up when I fell down. Her wedding ring almost falls off of her finger. The band is covered in small diamonds. My dad didn't get her a band with one stone; he wanted to get her one with lots of stones for her engagement ring. Next to it is a simple white gold band, her wedding band. The two are welded together and I can't imagine them being on anyone's hand but hers.

"I love you so much Beatrice. Don't ever forget that."

"I won't."

We stay tangled together until I have to leave for work. I don't want to leave her, but I know that I have to.

I watch Edward as he hits the heavy bag; I let Lauren give him some pointers. I'm too emotionally worn out to give him my undivided attention. My gloves sit in the corner and I watch them. Suddenly I'm craving to hit something and hit it hard.

I put on the gloves and walk over to the bags. My first few punches are half assed, but once I start hitting the bag everything seems to pour out of me. Each punch has my whole body thrown into it, every hit harder than the last.

All of my bottled up emotions come pouring out of me. The anger that I've been hiding bubbles out furiously as I smack the bag with my fists. My breaths are ragged and my shoulders start to get tired from the constant force. I fight through my burning lungs and heavy arms.

Nothing that is happening is fair and I'm sick of it. I'm sick of feeling like I have to be strong, but I don't want to dump my emotions on my family. My family is going through enough without having to console me.

I throw another punch and let out a growl of frustration. My jaw is tight and I can feel my teeth bite down hard with each hit. The bag swings from the constant assault and I can feel sweat dripping from my hair. I go to swing again but I collapse instead, my body can't move anymore.

Lauren pulls me up from the ground and I go to the locker room for a shower. The water is scalding hot, but I don't mind. It feels pleasant on my now aching body. My eyes burn and I let myself cry. Finally I let myself actually fall apart. My sides ache with my sobs and I try to suck in air. No noise comes out, my sobs are silent and it hurts more than imaginable.

Edward leaves the gym only moments before me. He gives me a nod before going and I silently thank him for not asking about my outburst. Lauren gives me the rest of the day off, saying that she doesn't mind taking care of the front.

* * *

_I know it's not as long as the last chapter, but this is currently the last chapter I have typed up. So I've got to get to writing some more. _

_I'm glad you guys liked my twist with Christina. I promise more is going to happen within the next chapters._

_Okay so my tumblr is .com you can come follow me if you'd like to. I only post things that are mine, so you may get bored with it haha. Send me a message if you'd like :) we can be __bffs _


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